Shaheen Afridi and Rashid Khan (Source: @AbrarSaeed721, @ACBofficials/X.com)
It was a hard-fought encounter in the fourth match of the ongoing T20I tri-series, where Pakistan and Afghanistan collided in Sharjah. The game eventually went in Afghanistan's favour, who claimed an 18-run victory over the Pakistan side, as their batting failed miserably.
Rashid Khan's Back-To-Back Strikes That Troubled Pakistan Further
It turned out to be a horrible outing for the Pakistani middle order, especially the likes of Mohammad Haris and Shaheen Afridi, who couldn't even get into the double-figure marks, alongside Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz.
Pakistan, while chasing 170 for victory, could only get to as far as 151, thanks to Haris Rauf's outstanding effort with the bat, scoring 34 not out off 16 deliveries, with four maximums, where he was striking at 212.50, as Pakistan managed to overcome embarrassment, but not the defeat.
After some excellent batting efforts from Sediqullah Atal (64) and Ibrahim Zadran (65), and despite Faheem Ashraf's four-wicket haul, Afghanistan still went on to score a total that looked challenging.
However, when it came to the Pakistani side, they were six down for 103 when Rashid Khan came in to deliver his third over of the game, and dismissed Mohammad Nawaz on the very first delivery of the 16th over, where Pakistan were reduced to 103 for seven.
While on the very next delivery, incoming batter Shaheen Afridi's stumps were dismantled as Rashid Khan knocked him over for a golden duck on the second delivery of the 16th over. Going for a massive slog sweep, the left-hander missed the ball completely which then crashed onto his stumps.
Pakistan, all of a sudden, lost their eighth wicket for just 103 runs. The game was still looking in their grasp before these two wickets; however, after Rashid's wonderful spell, that one even 1% chance was taken away from them.
The leg-spinner was outstandingly brilliant, giving away just 30 runs in his four overs with two major scalps during the encounter. With the bat, he scored eight off four deliveries with a maximum.
Pakistan Left In The Dark After Collective Bowling Effort From Afghan Bowlers
However, it was not just Rashid who did the damage, as the rest of the Afghan bowlers, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi, and Noor Ahmad, also claimed two wickets each as Pakistan lost eight of the nine Pakistani wickets to bowlers, while the skipper, Salman Agha, was run out for 20.
Farooqi was particularly brilliant, as he claimed two wickets in his three-over spell, where he also got wickets of Saim Ayub and Sahidzada Farhan, with Ayub also falling for a golden duck.
While Nabi and Noor bowled with identical figures in their four-over spell, of 2 for 20, as they gave runs only at an economy of five, where Pakistan couldn't survive the punching blows from the Afghan bowlers.
In the end, they gave up the fight, as Afghanistan registered a crucial victory by 18 runs and went on the top of the points table.
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.jpg?type=mq "Arnav Chopra")