Pakistan Win Crucial Match Against Afghanistan

Web Desk — Asif Ali once again proved to be the man of crisis and paved the way for Pakistan’s victory against Afghanistan in a high-pressure situation.

Batting first Afghanistan made 147 and Pakistan needed 148 runs to win their third T20 World Cup clash to qualify for the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, Green shirts were struggling against Afghanistan as dependable opener Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, and Fakhar Zaman were dismissed by Afghan spinners Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, and Nabi.

Skipper Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman were playing confidently and both formed a solid partnership before Nabi dismissed the left-handed batsman.

On the other hand, Babar Azam scored another half-century. The Pakistani skipper was once dropped off a Rashid Khan delivery. However, Rashid Khan deceived him for the second time in the same over, this time bowling him out.

Mohammad Hafeez never looked settled on the crease and an economical over by Rashid Khan put him further under pressure. The Afghan spinner dismissed Hafeez as he attempted to hit him out of the park, caught instead by Gulbadin.

At one stage it looked hard for Pakistan to win the match but then came Asif Ali who scored 25 runs in one over and snatched the victory from Afghanistan. Asif Ali hit four sixes. He was declared man of the match.

With this victory, Pakistan is at number 1 with 6 points in its group and its entry into the semi-finals is almost done.