Pakistan is the most unpredictable team. I already told you in my last article that they can win against No.1 Team and they can lose even against No.10 team. So nothing new. Well credit goes to Afghanistan team who really fought well and give us a great match to watch.
This was the 36th match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers got failed and the team loses their first two wickets in just 27 runs. Shaheen took H Shahidi and G Naib wickets. He bowls really well. Rahmat Shah got out on 35 runs and the pressure begins on the Afghanistan team. However, somehow they managed to score 227 runs which was not a bad total. Najibbullah Zadran scored 42 runs in 54 balls, Asghar Afghan 42 runs in 35 balls. From Pakistan side Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets with an economy of 4.70 in his 10 overs spell. Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz got 2 wickets while Shadad took 1 wicket. Overall Pakistan bowling was not that bad they bowled very well but credit goes to Afghanistan they gave them a tough time.
In the 2nd innings, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the 2nd ball. Fakhar departed on duck, Imam scored 36 runs, Babar scored 44, Haris got out on 27 while experienced so-called professor Muhammad Hafeez scored just 19 runs in 35 balls. This was not expected by this batting line up as we see the same team batting against New Zealand & South Africa so well. However they gave a heart attack to Pakistani fans. Sarfaraz failed again and scored just 18 runs. Shadab tried his best to create a big partnership with Imad when he got run out on 11. Imad was the last hope of Pakistan as he was on 30+ runs. After the wicket of Shadab,Wahab came out to bat hitted 1 six and 1 four when the team needed the most. Afghanistan spinner did a great job Mujeeb and Nabi got 2 wickets while Rashid Khan was able to get 1 wicket.
Imad and Wahab really played well. Pakistan was needed 2 runs in 3 balls, Imad hit four runs in the 3rd last ball of the innings and he won the match for Pakistan team.Pakistan won the game by 3 wicket (2 balls remaining). This was an amazing match of full of thriller. If you missed out this great entertainment then you are very unlucky.
The bad thing about this match was the Afghanistan fans at the stadium. They got mad after the lost, they even started fight with Pakistani fans. One of the Afghanistan fan tried to attack Imad & Wahab but Security guard did his job, He caught him before he do something wrong.
You can enjoy the highlights on youtube. Click here and watch – HIGHLIGHTS OF PAK V AFG
Pakistan was playing with this 11 players :
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi.
Afghanistan was playing with this 11 players :
Gulbadin Naib (c), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Imad Wasim was called the man of the match as he scored crucial 49 runs. Now Pakistani fans are praying for India to win against England on Sunday. If India wins against England then Pakistan just needs to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals.
Good Luck to both Afghanistan & Pakistan for their future matches.
