All-rounder Faheem Ashraf produced a match-winning spell of 4-27 to restrict Afghanistan to 169-5, leaving Pakistan a 170-run target in their T20 tri-series clash on Tuesday.
The game began with both sides observing a minute of silence for the flood victims in Pakistan and earthquake victims in Afghanistan. After winning the toss, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan opted to bat and aimed for a total above 170, but Pakistan’s disciplined bowling, led by Faheem, kept them just short of the mark.
Saim Ayub struck early by removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the second over after the opener had smashed the first six of the match. From there, Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal steadied the innings, putting on a crucial partnership. Atal scored a fluent 64 off 46 balls, while Zadran compiled a steady 50 from 38 deliveries.
Both batters accelerated midway through the innings, especially against Sufyan Muqim, who conceded 20 runs in the 14th over. However, Faheem dismissed Atal in the 16th over before claiming Zadran and Azmatullah Omarzai in quick succession, halting Afghanistan’s momentum.
Despite a few late boundaries, Afghanistan ended on 169-5. Pakistan made changes to their bowling attack for this fixture, bringing back Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf in place of Hasan Ali and Salman Mirza.
The tri-series, serving as preparation for the Asia Cup starting September 9, has already seen Pakistan dominate in earlier games. The Green Shirts defeated Afghanistan by 39 runs in the opener and overcame UAE by 31 runs thanks to half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. The final of the series is scheduled for September 7.
Under head coach Mike Hesson, Pakistan are testing combinations ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, moving forward without senior players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufyan Muqim.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (capt), Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
