Pakistan on Friday survived a scare against Afghanistan as they beat their cricketing neighbours by five wickets.
Asif Ali hit four sixes in the 19th over to secure the win for his country, but Afghanistan had made it incredibly difficult for the Babar Azam-led side. Pakistan needed to score 24 runs in the last two overs with five wickets down. However, Asif Ali hit Karim Janat for 24 runs in the second last over of the game, pulling off the win with six balls to spare.
Batting first, Afghanistan had made 147-6 in 20 overs. This was possible a decent partnership between Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib for the seventh wicket. They remained unbeaten at 35 each.
Aside from Babar Azam, who made 51, no Pakistani batsmen were able to play a big knock. Mujeeb Ur Rahman conceded just 14 runs in his quota of four overs and took one wicket for Afghanistan. Rashid Khan conceded just 26 runs for his two wickets in four overs. But Asif Ali, who was declared Man Of The Match, put paid to Aghanistan’s hopes for what would have been a splendid win.
Afghan skipper Nabi said that he was disappointed with today’s defeat but the fight back by his players had given him a lot of confidence for the upcoming matches.
His Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam showered praises on Asif Ali for his ability to finish the game lower down in the order.