Asif Ali Powers Pakistan To 5 Wicket Win Over Afghanistan

Cricket Image for Asif Ali Powers Pakistan To 5 Wicket Win Over Afghanistan (Image Source: Twitter)

Asif Ali smashed four sixes in the 19th over to take Pakistan home with an over to spare as they registered their third straight win in the T20 World Cup on Friday. 

Chasing 148, Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan early but Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam kept the run rate in check and gave their team a solid start. The two added 63 runs from 52 balls before Zaman got out scoring 30 off 25 balls. 

Mohammad Hafeez couldn't contribute much and got out for just 10 - a wicket that brought Afghanistan back into the game. Azam got out two overs later after scoring a 47-ball-51. 

However, it was once again the duo of Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali that kept Pakistan in the game. Malik scored 19 and got out in the 18th over. With 24 more needed in the final two overs, Ali took the charge against Karim Janat and smashed four sixes to seal the deal in the 19th over itself. 

Earlier, an unbeaten 71-run stand between Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib helped Afghanistan score 147/6 in the first innings.

After opting to bat first, Afghanistan were in all sorts of trouble as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay. The wickets continued to fall as Afghanistan were down to 76/6 in the 13th over. 

It was then that Naib and Nabi revived the teams' innings and smashed 71 runs in the final seven overs. Both Naib and Nabi scored 35 runs each 

For Pakistan, Imad Wasim picked up two wickets, while rest of the four bowlers got one wicket each. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Afghanistan - 147/6 
Pakistan - 148/5 in 19 overs