SHARJAH: Asia Cup 2022 - Pakistan survived a scare and held their nerves to beat Afghanistan by 1 wicket in a thrilling Super 4 match to reach the final of the Asia Cup 2022 and knock India out of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in Sharjah on Wednesday.
Pakistan will now play Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final following this victory. Afghanistan and India, on the other hand, were eliminated after each team lost their two Super Four games in a row. The two teams will now square off on Thursday in a dead rubber.
The likes of Haris Rauf (2/26) while Naseem Shah (1/19), Mohammad Nawaz (1/23), Shadab Khan (1/27), and Mohammad Hasnain (1/34) put up a fantastic bowling effort and assisted Pakistan in limiting Afghanistan to 129-6 in 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first.
The top scorer for Afghanistan was Ibrahim Zadran (35 off 37), while Hazratullah Zazai (21 off 17), Rashid Khan (18 off 15), and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (17 off 11) contributed significantly with the bat.
Chasing a modest score, Pakistan got off to a slow start as they lost captain Babar Azam ((0)) in the first ball of the innings. Babar was hurried by the velocity and swing of Fazalhaq Farooqi's delivery and was caught in front of the wicket.
The next batter, Fakhar Zaman (5), likewise didn't seem at ease against Mujeeb Ur Rahman and tried to get going with the strike, but a strong direct hit from Najibullah sent him back to the pavilion, bringing Pakistan's score after 3.1 overs to 18-2. Mohammad Rizwan, who has been in excellent form, batted conservatively to help Pakistan reach 35/2 at the end of the powerplay. He was joined by Iftikhar Ahmed.
Rashid Khan, Afghanistan's top spinner, lived up to expectations, and he did not dissapoint. In his second over, Rashid used a quicker googly to trap Rizwan (20) in front of the wickets, giving his team some hope.
Nawaz, who scored the game-winning run against India, was replaced by leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who was elevated to the batting order by Pakistan. Pakistan was 52/3 at the midway point, so he and Iftikhar Ahmed had work to do.
Shadab and Iftikhar both alternated strikes while also scoring a few boundaries to put Pakistan on track during the run chase. By getting rid of Iftikhar (30), Fareed Ahmad provided Afghanistan with the much-needed breakthrough that allowed them to reenter the game.
Rashid got involved once more, dismissing Shadab, who had been elevated in the pecking order and had been so impressive during his 36 off 26. The following batter, Asif Ali, smashed a six on the first pitch to help his team gain momentum.
From that point on, everyone was looking on Mohammad Nawaz (4) and Khushdil Shah (1) to seal the victory for Pakistan, but they fell short as Afghanistan appeared to be winning easily. The dismissal of Asif Ali (16) in the last over seemed to be the deciding blow for Pakistan, who now required 12 runs off 7 balls.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Afghanistan's most effective bowler of the night until to the start of the last over, eventually failed under duress when Pakistan required 11 runs in 6 balls to win. With back-to-back sixes off the opening two balls and Pakistan's exciting one-wicket victory with four balls remaining, Naseem Shah twice struck the sweet spot on his bat.
The wicket-takers for Afghanistan were Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/31), Fareed Ahmad Malik (3/31), and Rashid Khan (2/25)
Afghanistan had a quick start earlier. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the young opener, ended the second over against Mohammad Hasnain with back-to-back sixes after Naseem Shah's four-run opening over.
Rauf, who was sent in to bowl the fourth over, however, rattled Gurbaz's stumps with a length ball. However, Hazratullah Zazai was also in fine shape when he approached Hasnain on a slow off cutter.
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