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Pakistan Restore Pride Win 3rd T20I; Afghanistan Clinch Series 2-1


image-lfrqsgwvPakistan won the third T20I [Twitter]

In the third and final T20I of the series, Pakistan played their best cricket to avoid a series clean-sweep against the hands of Afghanistan. Youngsters Saim Ayub and Ihsanullah fired for the Men in Green to help Pakistan gain a comfortable 66-run win at Sharjah last evening, with Afghanistan winning the series 2-1. 

Saim Ayub and Iftikhar Ahmed power PAK to 182

Put into bat, Pakistan lost openers Mohammad Haris and Tayyab Tahir within the powerplay. Peshawar Zalmi opener Saim Ayub along with Abdullah Shafique consolidated for their side and added 35 crucial runs for the third wicket. 

Shafique, who saved himself from a fifth T20I duck in a row, was bowled by Rashid Khan for 23.

Ayub was joined by Iftikhar Ahmed to take control of the situation. The 20-year-old missed his maiden T20I fifty, getting out on 49 off Karim Janat.

Ahmed too soon fell for 31. Imad Wasim (13) and skipper Shadab Khan (28) played small cameos for Pakistan.

Their innings closed on 182 for 7 with Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Wasim Jr in the middle batting on 5* and 9*, respectively. 

Ihsanullah and Shabad's 3-fers down AFG

Chasing 183, Afghanistan were off to a flier as both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediquallah Atal matched each other shot-for-shot. However, the march was halted by Ihsanullah, who cleaned up Gurbaz for 18.

It was all downhill for the hosts since then, as skipper Shadab spun the middle-order into a frenzy with two quick wickets.

Former skipper Mohammad Nabi, unfortunately, got run out, sinking Afghanistan's ship even deeper. An acute bouncer from Ihsanullah saw Najibullah Zardan get hit on the helmet, forcing him to leave the field.

He got Janat for a golden duck. Captain Rashid Khan struck 16 before falling to Wasim for 16.

Shadab and Ihsanullah picked up their respective third wickets in the form of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fareed Malik.

Azmatullah Omarzai, who came in as a concussion substitute for Najibullah, scored 21 off 20 before he became the final wicket to fall as Afghanistan folded for 116. 

Brief Scores

Pakistan - 182 -7 (20)

Saim Ayub 49 (40), Iftikhar Ahmed 31(25);

Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-28 (4), Fazalhqa Farooqi 1-25 (4).

Afghanistan - 116 all out (18.4)

Azamtullah Omarzai 21 (20), Rahmanullah Gurbaz 18 (11);

Ihsanullah 3-29 (4), Shadab Khan 3-13 (4).

Pakistan won by 66 runs.