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DUBAI: Asif Ali emerged as the hero for Pakistan again in the T20 World Cup 2021 on Friday as he hit four sixes in the penultimate over of a successful run chase against Afghanistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Chasing a target of 148, Pakistan were struggling to find their feet after wicketkeeper batsman and opener Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman were dismissed by Afghanistan spinners Rashid Khan, Mujeeb and Nabi.
Skipper Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman had formed a solid partnership before Nabi dismissed the left-handed batsman. Babar Azam scored another half-century to ease some pressure off Afghanistan.
However, the Pakistani skipper was once dropped off a Rashid Khan delivery. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan deceived him for the second time in the same over, this time bowling him out. He was not Rashid Khan’s first wicket, though.
Pakistan’s run chase was at 124-5, with 24 needed off 12 balls and the match set for another tensed ending. This was when Asif decided to again rise to the occasion.
Earlier after struggling against Pakistan’s bowling attack, Afghanistan managed to recover courtesy of an impressive partnership between Gulbadin and Nabi, who steered their country to 147 runs at the end of 20 overs.
With three wickets down, Afghanistan were already in trouble when Hassan Ali took a wicket from his very first ball, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz, caught by skipper Babar Azam.
Afghanistan kept on ticking the scoreboard with sixes and fours, however, the Pakistani bowlers also did not refrain from tacking wickets. Karim Janat tried to hit Imad Wasim for a six but the ball ended up in Fakhar Zaman’s hands, with Afghanistan losing their fifth wicket.
Playing XI:
Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Afghanistan XI: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad, 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Asghar Afghan, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Karim Janat, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.
