Sharjah 7 Sep : Pakistan held their nerves to defeat Afghanistan by one wicket in an Super Four match to reach the final of the Asia Cup 2022 and knock India out of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, on Wednesday.Following this victory, Pakistan will now face Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup.On the other side, it was a sombre ending for Afghanistan and India as both teams lost two consecutive Super Four matches and will be playing one another in an unfinished rubber match on Thursday.
Pakistan performed a fantastic bowling performance that limited Afghanistan to 129/6 in 20 overs.
Ibrahim Zadran (35 off 37) was the top scorer for Afghanistan while Hazratullah Zazai (21 off 17), Rashid Khan (18 off 15), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (17 off 11) were the other key players with the bat.
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf was the most popular of bowlers with figures of 226 and 26.Naseem Shah (1/19), Mohammad Nawaz (1/23), Shadab Khan (1/27) Mohammad Hasnain (1/34) took 1 wicket for each.
Achieving a small score, Shadab Khan (36 off 26), Iftikhar Ahmed (30 off 33), Mohammad Rizwan (20 off 26) played crucial knocks, but Pakistan lost wickets frequently.
In the end, Pakistan needed 11 runs in 6 balls to prevail.Farooqi collapsed under pressure in the closing over, as Naseem Shah hit the perfect place on his bat twice by hitting back-to-back sixes, guiding Pakistan to an amazing one wicket victory, with four balls left.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/31), Fareed Ahmad Malik (3/31),Rashid Khan (2/25) were the wicket-takers for Afghanistan.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 129 for 6 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 35, Hazratullah Zazai 21; Haris Rauf 2/26) lost to Pakistan 131-9 in 19.2 overs (Shadab Khan 36, Iftikhar Ahmed 30; Fazalhaq Farooqi 3/31), Fareed Ahmad Malik 3/31) by 1 wickets.
