Pakistan will play its third match of the T20 tri-series against Afghanistan today in Sharjah. This will be the fourth match of the series and will start at 8:00 pm PST.
Pakistan beat Afghanistan and the UAE in back-to-back matches of the tri-nation series, which is being held as preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament, which will also be staged in the UAE.
Pakistani batters have played impressively on the UAE pitches so far, scoring 182 and 207 runs against Afghanistan and the UAE in the opening two matches of the tournament.
Pakistan were helped on to a 39-run win against Afghanistan last Friday after skipper Agha rescued the Green Shirts by scoring a fighting half-century, which included two consecutive sixes off Afghan skipper Rashid Khan’s over. Haris Rauf kept the Afghan batters at bay, taking crucial wickets at regular intervals to take a four-fer to ensure Pakistan emerged as the victors.
In turn, Afghanistan looked threatening during the chase, reaching 92-2 before losing five wickets for just four runs, slipping to 97-7. Rashid Khan top-scored with 39 and Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 38, but Pakistan’s bowlers maintained control. Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi returned figures of 2-21 while Mohammad Nawaz also finished with 2-23 and Sufiyan Moqim, 2-25 as Afghanistan were dismissed for 143 in 19.5 overs.
Pakistan will next play against the UAE on Sept. 4 before the UAE and Afghanistan lock horns on Sept. 5. The final of the tri-nation series will be played on Sept. 7 before the teams prepare for the eight-nation Asia Cup tournament to be held in the UAE from Sept. 9-28.
