Asif Ali smashed four sixes in an over to win the match for Pakistan by 5 wickets against Afghanistan.
Chasing down the target of 148 at Abu Dhabi, Pakistan lost the early wicket of opener Mohammad Rizwan. The Green Army were building up a good partnership but Mohammad Nabi dented their hopes by dismissing Fakhar Zaman. Pakistan’s ship seemed to be cruising towards victory as skipper Babar Azam scored 51 off 47 deliveries which comprised of 4 fours at a strike rate of 108.51.
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But Rashid Khan came in between the plans as he picked up the crucial wicket of Babar Azam in the last ball of his spell. Afghanistan saw a hope of coming back to the match after Naveen-ul-Haq had Shoaib Malik caught behind in the next over.
The momentum shifted to Afghanistan’s side in some moments. Pakistan then required 24 from last two overs with Asif Ali and Shadab Khan in the crease. However, Asif Ali clubbed four sixes off Karim Janat in the penultimate over of the match and took Pakistan to their third straight win in the tournament.
With this win, Pakistan now has a 100% winning record in the tournament and they have increased their chances of making it to the next stage.
Earlier while choosing to bat first, Afghanistan got themselves to the worst possible start having lost four wickets inside the powerplay overs. Karim Janat and Najibullah built a 25-run partnership to get back things for their side but Shadab Khan crushed their plans as Afghanistan lost five within 10 overs.
Skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib added 35 run each as they built up a partnership of 71 runs to help their side reach to 147/6 after being reduced to 64/5 once.
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