AFG vs PAK: All-Round Afghanistan Crush Pakistan In 2nd T20I To Seal Series
Team Afghanistan (Source: Twitter)
Riding on a dominant all-round performance, Afghanistan outclassed Pakistan in the second T20I of the three-match series by seven wickets. Afghanistan sealed their maiden T20I series against Pakistan with one game remaining.
Imad-Shadab lift Pakistan to 130
After electing to bat first, Pakistan got off to a horrible start, losing two wickets in the very first over. It was Fazalhaq Farooqi again, who made the life difficult for Pakistan's top order. Mohammad Haris tried to bring things back in control but was soon sent back by Naveen ul Haq, leaving the men in green with three down with only 35 on the board at the end of the powerplay.
It further went downhill for Pakistan as they lost their fifth wicket after the halfway mark with only 63 on the board. The new-look batting lineup of Pakistan failed again, leaving the experienced duo of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan to do the rebuilding job.
The duo was very watchful for the first few overs but went on to finish well in the death. They added 67 runs for the sixth wicket, with 45 of them coming in the last five overs. Imad top-scored for Pakistan with an unbeaten 64, while Shadab contributed a 25-ball 32 at the other end.
Pakistan managed to put up a fighting 130 at the end of 20 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi was once again the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, scalping two wickets for just 19 runs.
Nabi-Najibullah finish took Afghanistan across the line
Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi (Source: Twitter)
Chasing 131, Afghanistan got off to a great start, courtesy of Rahmanullah Gurbaz's fireworks. Usman Ghani could not do much of a damage but Gurbaz kept going from one end, taking the team’s total to 45 for one at the end of the powerplay.
The game seemed to be slipping away real quickly from Pakistan’s hand. Skipper Shadab Khan introduced spin after the powerplay, managing to cease the run-flow to some extent. Afghanistan could hit only two boundaries during the middle overs, scoring fifty runs between 7-15 overs.
Gurbaz had a very difficult stay after the powerplay and got out just before the slog overs at 44 off 49.
Pakistan were well and truly back with Afghanistan needing 36 off the last four. The hosts further went on to lose a set Ibrahim Zadran which marked the arrival of last match’s hero, Mohammad Nabi.
Continuing his onslaught on Pakistan, Nabi, along with Najibullah Zadran, did not waste any time and extracted 17 runs off the penultimate over, leaving only 5 to get from the last over.
Najibullah edged towards third man for four to finish things off in style and Afghanistan got across the line with one ball remaining.
Brief Scores
Pakistan: 130/6 (20 Overs)
Imad Wasim 64* (57), Shadab Khan 32 (25);
Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/19, Karim Janat 1/13
Afghanistan: 133/3 (19.5Overs)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz 44 (49), Ibrahim Zadran 38 (40);|
Zaman Khan 1/22, Ihsanullah 1/23
Afghanistan won by 7 wickets.
 "Kaushik Kashyap")
