Cricket Highlights, 26 Mar: Afghanistan vs Pakistan (2^nd T20I)

Afghanistan vs Pakistan (2nd T20I)

Yesterday’s second match of the three-match T20 series featured Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan was defeated by Rashid Khan’s squad in the second game in Sharjah by 7 wickets. Afghanistan has never defeated Pakistan in a T20 match, according to history. The Afghans, on the other hand, not only trounced Pakistan over the T20 but also took home the series away.

Pakistan’s batting performance in the opening game played in Sharjah was really embarrassing. They lost 9 wickets for only 92 runs. With 13 balls remaining, the Afghans claimed a 6-wicket victory and departed the field. Pakistan then only scored 130 runs on Sunday night after losing six wickets. In that match, Afghanistan secures victory with one ball in hand. By winning the final game, Afghanistan now has a chance to completely destroy Pakistan.

The second T20I match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was similar to a game of musical chairs. At one point, the match shifted to Afghanistan, and at another, to Pakistan.

Afghanistan lost the coin toss in that unclear match and began the second match where they left off in the first. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique’s return in the second and third balls of the innings rocked Pakistan’s batting foundation and increased the chance of a hat trick of Fazalhaq Farooqi. Without scoring any runs in the opening over, Pakistan lost 2 wickets.

Shafique, a batsman, became the first player in T20 history to be dismissed for zero runs in four straight games. However, Pakistan reduced some of the pressure in the subsequent over by scoring 18 runs. With two fours and a six, Mohammad Haris scored 15 runs all by himself. In the third over, Naveen Ul Haq again put Pakistan under greater strain. Naveen sent Haris (15), who wanted to be a powerful hitter, back to the locker room.

Tayyab Tahir and Imad Wasim then assumed charge of saving the squad from failure. Imad batted fluidly, but Tayyab was having trouble. Tayyab was returned by Karim Zanat for the team’s 60 runs. In 23 balls, Tayyab scored 13 runs. Rashid Khan then swiftly brought Azam Khan (1) back with a fantastic googly.

Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan, the team’s captain, then led the way. In essence, Pakistan began to advance toward the fighting capital with Imad’s bat. Imad reached 50 in between. Yet, due to a lack of assistance from the other end, Pakistan’s run rate remained low. In the 18th over, Pakistan scored a hundred runs.

Imad and Shadab, though, delivered Pakistan 130 runs in total, including 24 runs in the final 2 overs. Imad scored 64 runs off 57 balls to keep his perfect record. Before being run out in the final ball, Shadab scored 32 runs in 25 balls.

In the 2nd innings, Afghanistan had a quick start when chasing the mark, scoring 18 runs in just 2 overs. In the fourth over of the game, Pakistan gave the Afghans their opening blow. Zaman Khan bowled out Usman Ghani. While Afghanistan lost wickets, the rate of runs did not slow down. In the first six overs, they scored 45 runs. The crew was brought together by Ibrahim Zardan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. They brought the team’s total after 10 overs to 66 runs.

Nonetheless, Afghanistan found itself under duress as a result of Pakistan’s disciplined bowling, which expanded the gap between runs and balls. From 7.4 overs to 15.3 overs, no boundaries were obtained by Afghanistan. Gurbaz, who scored 44 runs, was also struck out. Ibrahim got out at the team’s 102 runs after making 38. Ihsanullah made him back. Yet under pressure, Afghanistan scored 17 runs in the 19th over to alter the course of the game. Najibullah Zadran smashed a four off the fifth ball of the final over to give his team the victory. In the end, Najibullah Zadran scored 23 runs without being outscored, and Nabi scored 14 runs without being dismissed.

Afghanistan vs Pakistan Scoreboard

Pakistan – 130/6 (20.0)

Afghanistan – 133/3 (19.5)

Result – Afghanistan won by 7 wickets

Player of the match – Fazalhaq Farooqi 

Fazalhaq Farooqi

Afghanistan vs Pakistan Playing XI’s