What a nail-biter of a match, right down to the final over. Naseem Shah once again comes through for Pakistan.
While Pakistan may have already won the series, there is still one more game on Saturday, and we will be here as usual to bring you all the action. We bid you good night until then.
Azam Babar: Naseem shah in crunch movements.
When it was just me and Imam at bat, we were just trying to create the partnership, playing for as long as possible to see where we stood after 40 overs. We anticipated scoring 80 to 90 runs in the final 10 overs. When the going gets tough, Naseem shah also comes up in crunch situations.
[Confronting spin with a bat] I’m constantly working to better myself. Never content; insatiable. Bowling of varying grades is on display. I have complete faith in my abilities and never second-guess my judgment. The spotlight is on the last match, as Babar Azam said.Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah
It hurts because we had enough runs and they took the game away from us at the last second. In the 49th over, the batsmen capitalized on some low and easy deliveries.
Since about a year and a half ago, the opening lineup has been performing admirably. I’m hoping they can all play in sync. You can find merit in both. We felt helpless in the face of the mounting pressure.
The match’s MVP is Shadab Khan.
Senior players always have to go through these motions. I do what I can to maintain a level head. Their players had faced world-class spinners, so I opted to face off against quick bowlers in this match.
Big Fences
Those fences went on for miles. I intended to make a double-down bet. We lost the match after that shot [against Zimbabwe in the World Cup]. I had begun to blame myself. That was a turning point in my life.
Afganistan 1st inning.
| Afghanistan (50 ovs maximum) | |||||||
| BATTING | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz † | c †Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 151 | 151 | 197 | 14 | 3 | 100 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | c Iftikhar Ahmed b Usama Mir | 80 | 101 | 178 | 6 | 2 | 79.2 |
| Mohammad Nabi | c Imam-ul-Haq b Naseem Shah | 29 | 29 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 100 |
| Rashid Khan | lbw b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 66.66 |
| Shahidullah | run out (Shaheen Shah Afridi) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | – | 33.33 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | not out | 15 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 136.36 |
| Abdul Rahman | not out | 4 | 4 | 3 | – | 0 | 100 |
| Extras | (lb 11, nb 2, w 5) | 18 | |||||
| TOTAL | 50 Ov (RR: 6.00) | 300/5 | |||||
| Did not bat: | Riaz Hassan, ikram Alikhil, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fazal Ul Haq Farooqi | ||||||
| Fall of wickets: | Fall of wickets: 1-227 (Ibrahim Zadran, 39.5 ov), 2-256 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 44.2 ov), 3-260 (Rashid Khan, 44.6 ov), 4-270 (Shahidullah, 46.2 ov), 5-294 (Mohammad Nabi, 49.1 ov) • | ||||||
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 10 | 0 | 58 | 2 | 5.8 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Naseem Shah | 9 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Haris Rauf | 7 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 6.85 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shadab Khan | 10 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 5.3 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Usama Mir | 10 | 0 | 61 | 1 | 6.1 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
After the brilliant start, Rahman scored 151 (151) with the strike rate of 100, and the Opening partnership of Afghanistan give then a serious edge. The first wicket down on 227 runs where Ibrahim zadran caught behind on the ball of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
So, after the highest opening partnership against Pakistan, Afghanistan only managed to score 300 on the loss of 5 wickets.
Pakistan 2nd Innings:
| Pakistan (T: 301 runs from 50 ovs) | |||||||
| BATTING | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Fakhar Zaman | b Fazalhaq Farooqi | 30 | 34 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 88.23 |
| Imam-ul-Haq | c Riaz Hassan b Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 91 | 105 | 170 | 4 | 0 | 86.66 |
| Babar Azam (c) | c Hashmatullah Shahidi b Fazalhaq Farooqi | 53 | 66 | 86 | 6 | 0 | 80.30 |
| Mohammad Rizwan † | run out (Hashmatullah Shahidi) | 2 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Agha Salman | c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Mohammad Nabi | 14 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 93.33 |
| Usama Mir | c Shahidullah b Mohammad Nabi | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | c Mohammad Nabi b Abdul Rahman | 17 | 24 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 70.83 |
| Shadab Khan | run out (Fazalhaq Farooqi) | 48 | 35 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 137.14 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | c Rashid Khan b Fazalhaq Farooqi | 4 | 5 | 7 | – | 0 | 80 |
| Naseem Shah | not out | 10 | 5 | 18 | 2 | – | 200 |
| Haris Rauf | not out | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 300 |
| Extras | (lb 6, w 24) | 30 | |||||
| TOTAL | 49.5 Ov (RR:6.06) | 302/9 |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 9.5 | 0 | 69 | 3 | 7.01 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 10 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 4.5 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Abdul Rahman | 10 | 0 | 83 | 1 | 8.3 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 4 | – |
| Mohammad Nabi | 10 | 0 | 46 | 2 | 4.6 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Rashid Khan | 10 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 5.3 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 2 | – |
Naseem Shah was Confident.
Naseem Shah faced the Afghanistan Bowlers confidently after the tense conclusion. The Naseem is well-known to the Afghanistan team. In the 2023 Asia Cup, he repeats his past performances.
Both teams have put up a number of impressive displays. In addition, Shadab khan constantly beamed with confidence that we would eventually find what we were looking for. Moreover, Pakistan’s bowlers struggled early on, their stellar late-game performance helped hold Afghanistan’s offense at 300.
The game ended up being fun for spectators on both teams. These competitions help pique the interest of the next generation in cricket.
