DUBAI: Super 12s – Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam led the chase and Asif Ali finished off with amazing power hitting to give Pakistan a win by 5 wickets with an over remaining chasing the Afghan score of 147.
Afghanistan winning the toss decided to bat first given their strong bowling line up to restrict the opponent. However Pakistani bowlers were on fire and kept striking wickets at regular intervals. Afghanistan were 39 for 4 wickets in the 5th over and it worsened further to 76 for 6 wickets (in 13 overs). However, a 71 run unbeaten fighting partnership between Afghan Captain Nabi (35 off 32 balls) and Gulbadin Naib (35 off 25 balls) allowed Afghanistan to score 147 for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.
Afghanistan ended the innings on a high although Shaheen Afridi pulled Afghanistan back in the last over.
Pakistan’s first half was dominated by the scintillating batting of Babar Azam who scored 51 runs off 47 balls. However, the hero for the Pakistan win was Asif Ali who hit four 6s in the 19th over to ensure Pakistan won by 5 wickets with 6 balls remaining. Afghanistan pulled back Pakistan when they picked up Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik in the 17th over. The fatal 19th over was bowled by K Janat and Pakistan’s Asif Ali hit four 6s to achieve a personal score 25 runs in 7 balls. This Pakistan win by 5 wickets gives them a healthy lead over the other teams and is likely the first team to qualify for the semifinals with 6 points including wins against India and New Zealand. The remaining matches for Pakistan is against Scotland and Namibia. (RZ)
[Image credit icc-cricket.com]
