SHARJAH: Pakistan captain Babar Azam was reminded of the last-ball six hit by the illustrious Javed Miandad in the same Sharjah International Stadium a few decades ago by his No. 10 batter Naseem Shah during the final over of their Asia Cup 2022 Super Four stage encounter against Afghanistan.
When Naseem Shah came out to bat, Pakistan needed 20 from 10 balls and two wickets to win the match and eliminate India from contention. The seasoned Asif Ali was at the other end, and the tailender, who had only ever faced one ball in T20Is before to this, quickly handed the strike off to his more experienced teammate.
But when Ali was out on the fifth ball of the last over, panic set in, and with Pakistan still needing 13 runs to win, Naseem decided to take charge from that moment. The final over will be bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi, who had stats of 3-0-19-3 up to that point, and Naseem declared he was ready for the yorkers that would be thrown his way. Men in Green advanced to the multi-nation tournament's final thanks to Naseem Shah, who hit two back-to-back sixes in the final over to win Pakistan the match.
Babar Azam, the captain, lavished praise on Naseem Shah and compared his bravery to that of Javed Miandan's in Pakistan's dramatic victory. Babar Azam, incidentally, had not even been conceived when Miandad accomplished the feat.
I was in the changing area. But in the back of my mind, I reminded myself that it was cricket and that I had seen Naseem bat in a similar manner, which gave me some hope. Babar Azam remarked, "This reminded me of Javed Miandad's six in Sharjah.
In one of the most iconic and unforgettable finishes in cricket, Miandad hit a six off India's Chetan Sharma with the final ball of the Astral-Asia Cup final to give Pakistan the victory and the trophy.
To be very honest, the atmosphere in the dressing room was quite tense. We weren't able to form partnerships like in the previous games, but following Naseem's finish, you could feel the mahaul (vibe)," remarked Pakistan's captain. He praised his bowlers for their success in limiting Afghanistan to 129/6 in their 20 overs. "We did great bowling the way we started. I want to offer credit to the bowlers for how we managed to keep them to 130. The game was close, as I mentioned previously, due to a lack of partnerships," he remarked.
In response, Pakistan scored 131/9 runs in 19.2 overs, and Naseem Shah secured the victory by driving the first two balls of the last over for sixes. In addition, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, three seasoned Afghan bowlers, Babar Azam stated his batters could have taken more risks.
After Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka to go to the Asia Cup 2022 final on Wednesday night, he stated, "Rashid, Mujeeb, and Nabi are among the finest; you need to take chances with them but the main plan was to take it far." In the Super Four stage, they both defeated Afghanistan and India.
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