Afghanistan claimed a memorable 18-run victory over Pakistan in the UAE tri-series clash at Sharjah, thanks to brilliant batting from Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal, and a dominant spin performance that dismantled Pakistan’s chase.
Zadran and Atal Anchor Afghanistan’s Innings
Despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz early, Afghanistan found stability through a remarkable second-wicket stand between Ibrahim Zadran (65) and Sediqullah Atal (64). Their 113-run partnership, the second-highest for Afghanistan at that position in T20Is, formed the backbone of the innings.
Pakistan’s bowlers, particularly Faheem Ashraf (4-27), did well to restrict the scoring in patches, but Afghanistan still managed to post 169 for 5.
“𝑨𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒁𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Ashraf provided Pakistan’s only silver lining with a late flurry of wickets, showcasing variations and control at the death.
Afghan Spinners Seal the Game
Chasing 170, Pakistan looked steady at 52 for 2 after the powerplay. However, the Afghan spinners turned the game on its head. Fazalhaq Farooqi struck early before Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad combined to wreak havoc.
From 62 for 2, Pakistan collapsed to 82 for 6, unable to read Noor’s variations or counter Rashid’s sharp turn. Despite a fighting cameo from Haris Rauf (34* off 16), Pakistan could only reach 151 for 9.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑨𝒇𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕,” 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕.
This victory was especially emotional for Afghanistan, coming in the backdrop of the devastating earthquake at home. Their resilience on the field mirrored the nation’s fighting spirit.
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