The Babar Azam-led side will certainly go into this contest as favourites but Afghanistan is not a side that can be taken lightly now. A mix of powerful strikers and world-class spinners make them an exciting unit. Afghanistan batters dominated the Scotland bowlers with their power-hitting but now they have to contend with an attack which is one of the most dangerous in this event. They will have to show maturity and treat the balls on merit. Going after the attack blindly is not an option against Pakistan.
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Asif Ali's casual shake of head to refuse a single on the final ball of the 18th over could well go down as the coolest 'no' of this tournament. It had the brashness of a cowboy flicking his cigarette before a shoot-out, it had the swagger of an action hero walking into a dark alley to face the villains. Pakistan wanted 24 from two overs. Shoaib Malik, his senior partner and fellow finisher from the earlier game, had just got out. Asif wanted the ball in his court and for that he needed to be on strike. He knew he could do it, he had a measure of the ground and his strokes. In the last game he had hit three sixes to score 27 runs off 12 deliveries. This time he scored 25 from 7 balls. He didn't believe in taking the game to the last over. His idea of scoring 24 was similar to a child who had just by-hearted 1 to 10 tables. If you are Asif, 24 is as easy 6x4.
414.3 Dwayne Smith (29 off 7) v Ban 2007
362.5 Yuvraj Singh (58 off 16) v Eng 2007
357.1 Asif Ali (25* off 7) v Afg 2021
353.8 Jehan Mubarak (46* off 13) v Ken 2007
340.8 Carlos Brathwaite (34* off 10) v Eng 2016
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Rashid Khan vs Babar Azam proved the best match-up of the tournament so far. The wizard Khan held the upper hand throughout, even saw his man being dropped and reprieved by the DRS but got him off the final ball of his spell. His second ball to Babar was a sharp googly that the batsman misread and was rapped on the pad. The umpire gave it out but DRS saved Babar. Another googly next ball, the first of the second over, yet again rapped the pads but it was sliding down leg. Babar went for the slog sweep next ball but dragged it off the inner edge. Both the batsman and the bowler had a chat and a smile. Rashid’s next ball to Babar was a beauty; it broke away so sharply from Babar who was stunned and poked it off the outer edge just wide of the slip. The next ball too was a lovely one; a lot slower and Babar mistimed the drive back to the bowler. As he walked away at the end of his second over, Khan shut his eyes, hung his head, and grimaced.
Rashid would take the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez in his third over but it was Babar he was after. After a lengthy discussion among the seniors, Afghanistan decided to give Khan the 17th over with Pakistan needing 38 runs. Shoaib Malik walloped a leg break for a six and charged down the track. Undeterred, Khan kept at it and nearly had Babar on the fourth ball of the over with a crafty leg break but Naveen clanged a relatively simple chance running in from backward point.
Then Babar did something very strange, and uncharacteristic. It was the last ball of the over, the last ball of Rashid’s spell, but he went for a big heave-ho. Was it the ego to prove a point? Was it the urge to break Afghanistan’s spirits? Whatever it was, it was decidedly unwise. This time, Rashid went for the googly, and a tad slower at it, and Babar was through with his slog-sweep and was bowled. Off ran Rashid on a celebratory run - he had troubled Babar nearly every ball and got his man in the end.
And the penultimate over begins. 24 runs needed off the last 2 overs now. And Asif Ali continues his form from the NZ match. A Six to start. And another 6. He is showing no mercy. 2 sixes in the first 3 balls. And another 6 off the 5th ball. The pattern is staggeing. It's 6,0,6,0,6 till now. Ali is explosive. And another 6. It's all over. What an over. 4 sixes. Pak make it 3 out of 3 with this 5-wicket victory.
And Malik is dropped. That was hit very hard. Not an easy catch by any means. Turning out to be a pretty good over for Afghanistan. And edged. Malik is gone. Naveen takes the crucial 5th Pakistan wicket. PAK 124/5 after 17.5 overs.
Rashid's last over begins. They have 3 overs of seam left. Pakistan play seam pretty well. Do they see out Rashid? And a six!! Shoaib Malik. Takes the risk, goes after Rashid and slog sweeps this deep into the stands at wide long-on. Mighty blow and it's gone way into the crowd. And Rashid bowls a wide ball. 2 off it. That 6 might have rattled him. And dropped. Azam is dropped. Naveen-ul-Haq with a massive drop! What a wicket this would have been for Rashid and Afghanistan! And he has clean bowled him in the last ball of the over. Massive one. Azam is gone. PAK 122/4 after 17 overs.
16th over starts. Karim to bowl. And 50 comes up for the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. 22nd T20I fifty for Babar, his third in the last four innings! It's been another typical innings from him - all calm and poise. Needs to finish it off though, because this format is really unpredictable. 9 from this over. PAK 110/3 after 16 overs.
ODIs: Rashid Khan - 44 matches
T20Is: Rashid Khan - 53 matches
117 Shakib
107 Malinga
100 Southee
100 RASHID KHAN
And gone. First ball of the 15th over. Rashid finally takes his 100th wicket in T20I and he is the quickest to do it. Hafeez departs after that mistimed shot. Straight to Gulbadin. Attempted the slog sweep but ended up getting it off the top-half of the blade. Straight down long-on's throat. PAK 97/3 after 14.1 overs.
14th over about to begin. The last one was Rashid's who went for 8 runs. Nabi will finish his spell now. Can he take a wicket? And a no ball. It looks mighty close. And the free hit is caught by Rashid but won't count. 8 off the over. PAK 97/2 after 14 overs.
Another LBW being reviewed, it's Fakhar Zaman this time. Nabi is the bowler. And we wait for a decision now. Looks out this time but let's see. He is hit on the back thigh in front of middle stump missing a sweep to a full ball but was crouched so low. And the original decision stands. Afghanistan gets a breakthrough. Zaman departs. PAK 75/2 after 11.1 overs.
Finally Rashid Khan is brought in the attack. But is it too late? Let's see. Pakistan will look to be careful while playing him. And Rashid strikes. 100 wickets for him. But might have to wait. Babar reviews. It's missing leg stump! Babar survives. PAK 75/1 after 11 overs.
What a way to end the 10th over. Smart batting from Babar. Slow bumper outside off, Babar Azam picks it, hops and neatly periscopes it over vacant first slip. Third man had no chance of stopping that. We go for drinks. PAK 72/1 after 10 overs.
9th over begins. The last over went for just 5 runs. Match is balanced. No clear advantage to any side. Azam starts with a 4. And another one off the 4th ball. Length ball outside off, Babar Azam waits and late-dabs it fine of short third man. Made it look so easy. 13 off this over. PAK 62/1 after 9 overs.
Mujeeb's spell will be over after this one. 7th over starts. They are looking to burn through his spell. Pakistan will look to be careful in this over. 6 off the over ultimately. PAK 44/1 after 7 overs.
Last over of the powerplay now. Naveen-ul-Haq to bowl. And a four off the fourth ball. Pakistan were looking for it. 7 off it. PAK 38/1 after powerplay ends.
And Zaman has hit the 5th ball of the fourth over for a four and then follows up the last ball with a 6. In a flash, Pakistan are back in control. PAK 29/1 after 4 overs.
The last ball of the 2nd over was punished for a 4 by Rizwan. Mujeeb to start the 3rd over. And a wicket is gone. Big big wicket. Afghanistan strike early. He's holed out to Naveen-ul-Haq at square leg! Rizwan falls early and Afghanistan explode with joy! That fielder was stationed specifically for that swipe by the Pakistan wicketkeeper, and the plan comes off! PAK 12/1 after 2.3 overs.
Gulbadin Naib had found himself as the captain during the 2019 ODI world cup in England with the Afghanistan board playing musical chairs with the job. The campaign was a disaster and Naib had found it all a bit too much. “You guys got a chance to go around the cities when you don’t have games?” he was asked. “Nahi bhai, Mostly hotel, practice, hotel.” Why? “Cricket is the only thing for us and in our country. And we are not doing well here. I am very, very disappointed; most guys are. No mood to go out. I have lots of relatives all around this country but I have not gone much. They also would be sad with the way we have played. So I have been just in the hotel mostly. Ek win mil jaaye toh…” He looked weary, almost sad. That win never came in that tournament. He would be a much happy man on Friday night. He is no longer the captain and was instrumental in charging Afghanistan to a great finish. It began with a four off Shaheen Afridi in the 16th over before he looted 21 runs off the 18th over by Hasan Ali. A thunderous pull to the midwicket stands, a smash hit to long-on, and a drag-heave to cow-corner. He even slammed Haris Rauf for a boundary in the 19th over. His unbeaten 35 and the unbroken 71-run partnership with Mohammad Nabi lifted Afghanistan from the pits of 76 for 6 to 147.
First over by Mujeeb. Good over. Just 3 runs off this over. Nothing of note off this over. PAK 3/0 after 1 over.
Rizwan and Babar Azam are at the crease. Rizwan is on strike. Mujeeb will open the attack.
Overs 1-6: 49-4 (8.16 rpo)
Overs 7-15: 44-2 (4.88 rpo)
Overs 16-20: 54-0 (10.80 rpo)
Last over. Afridi to bowl. Can this partnership survive the next 5 deliveries? First 5 deliveries have gone for 1 each. What does the last ball hold? Massive over from Afridi. Last ball is a no ball. Free hit time. Afghanistan can now hit one. And 1 off this one too. Great partnership takes AFG to 147/6 after 20 overs.
Afghanistan are riding their luck now. Edge! everything going Afghanistan's way right now! Nabi goes to heave for midwicket but gets a thick edge splitting Rizwan and short third man to the rope. It's another four to follow. Nabi is playing a captain's knock. And four more to follow. AFG 140/6 after 19 overs.
17th over. And this is the over they are targetting. Ali gets hits for a 6 straightaway. First ball of the over. And another 4 to follow. They are on the charge now. 10 off the first two balls. Gulbadin is just hitting them all over the field. And a four to follow. This one just went throught the fielder. What a shot. What an over for Afghanistan. Oh my. The last ball had gone for a single but it's a no ball. Free hit time. 21 runs off this over. AFG 125/6 after 17 overs.
Gulbadin has hit a 4 in the 4th ball of the 16th over. Shaheen is frustrated. It's whipped behind square and skids to the rope. Afghanistan finally get their hundred. Just 8 off the over. AFG 101/6 after the 16th over.
And Nabi has started hitting them. Slower ball attempted full on fifth stump, Nabi not fooled, hammers this over wide mid-off to the rope. He might take Afghanistan to a respectable total. 7 runs off this over. AFG 93/6 after 15 overs.
Ahmed Shahzad can never be blamed for keeping his emotions bottled. The 8 balls he faced was enough for his 15 minutes - by the way the exact duration of his innings - of fame. Clearly not aligned to Virat Kohli's school of fitness, the stocky opener, with more than 100 appearances for his nation in all formats, is a brand ambassador to cricket's inclusiveness and game's acceptance for humans of all shapes and sizes. The ever-expressive Shahzad can never be great at poker. At the start of the game, he was driven.
He closed his eyes, pointed to the skies after the anthem. He was in the ear of his opening partner at the start - animated and excited. He looked puzzled when he failed to connect a Shaheen Afridi yorker. As a short one sailed over his head, he shadow practiced his ramp shot. He brought the house down with his on-the-up drive over the cover cordon. But the standout emotion of the super short cameo was his ire when his partner refused a tight single. His message to the world: singles need to be judged by the placement of the ball, not size of the caller.
14th over starts. Rauf in to bowl. And the Afghanistan captain starts the over with a 4. And the Afghanistan captain has hit another 4. Taking charge. 14 overs gone. AFG 86/6.
And a 6 by Zadran. It's all or nothing for Afghanistan. And there goes the script again as he is gone in the next ball. This is surreal. Each Afghanistan batter hits a boundary and is out the next ball.Googly again, but this time pitched to perfection! The line was way better here, on off/fourth stump, and gets Najibullah prodding forward on the length too. Thin edge behind. Afghanistan slip further. AFG 76/6 after 12.5 overs.
12th over starts. The 11th over had just 2 runs off it. Afghanistan are in a world of trouble as pressure is mounting. And Ali has kept a maiden over. Great for Pakistan, worrying for Afghanistan. What an over by Hasan. AFG 67/5 after 12 overs.
And this is number 5. Whenever a batter gets something going, a wicket falls. Was looking to play the sweep, but he can't get on top of the bounce, couldn't roll his wrists over - the big top-edge lands safely in the hands of Fakhar Zaman at deep mid-wicket. Afghanistan have lost half their side now. Karim goes. AFG 64/5 after 9.1 overs as we go for drinks.
Afghanistan need a good partnership now. Too many wickets have fallen due to their habit of playing big shots. Pakistan have bowled very well and after taking those wickets have started to stem the runs. The last 2 overs went for 2 and 4 runs respectively. The 9th over now and it ends with a 4. The 3rd ball of this over was also steered into the boundary. Good over for Afghanistan. AFG 64/4 after 9 overs.
The last ball of the fifth over was hit for a 6 by Karim. It's like Afghanistan have no middlre gear. It's either a 6 or a wicket. They are absolutely not holding back. And again. Another wicket is gone for Afghanistan. Afghanistan 4 down now. Gurbaz slashed Hasan Ali's first ball high to mid-on, for no apparent reason than a rush of blood, and Babar Azam had the easiest of catches to take. AFG 39/4 after 5.1 over.
And no 3 is gone. Rauf takes him. And Asghar is gone. There's the third wicket as Afghanistan are looking at what might be a collapse. Seemed to rush onto the batsman who was so late on it he just scooped it back tamely into the ether of Haris Rauf's run-up, who had time to regain his balance and take the simplest of catches. AFG 33/3 after 4.3 overs.
Over the few matches he’s played at this T20 World, Shaheen Shah Afridi has become more and more difficult to play. His first over against Afghanistan just affirmed that as the only solid connection Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai managed to get was when the ball crashed into their pads. Naturally, Afridi, all of 21, was excited in every appeal. The umpire would promptly shake his head, and the youngster would immediately look at his captain Babar Azam and plead for the DRS call. On the first two occasions Azam resisted, spotting the ball was going nowhere near the stumps. On the last ball of the first over though, peer pressure perhaps got the better of the skipper. A full toss that Zazai missed was safely sailing wide of leg stump. It crashed into his pad and Afridi appealed. The umpire shook his head, and those pleading youthful eyes turned to Azam. With two seconds to go, Azam called for the review. As expected, it was going well wide.
WHAT A SIX. That is massive. Walloped over midwicket, absolute gem of a hit. Timed to perfection, and Gurbaz is off and running. And another one. Beautiful footwork, a little dance down the wicket to get to the pitch and majestic timing to clear the ropes. Asghar this time. And a 4 to end the over. AFG 30/2 after 4 overs.
And Shaheen is hit for a 4 by Shahzad and the ground erupts. First boundary of their innings. And the second wicket falls. Shahzad is gone after that 4. He is gone for 8. AFG 13/2 after 2.4 overs.
And the first wicket falls. First strike for Pak as Zazai goes for a 5-ball duck. It's that drift away from the left-hander that seals his fate. The ball scooped up past short third, and Haris Rauf - what a tournament he's having - takes a smart diving catch. AFG 7/1 after 1.3 overs.
Shaheen starts with a wide ball. Very unlike him. The second is a leg bye. Appeals for LBW but nothing. He is looking for the swing but it's non existent at the moment. There's a review going on. For LBW and it's not out. AFG 5/0 after 1 over.
Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai start for Afghanistan as Shaeen Shah Afridi will start the attack.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Afghanistan win toss, opt to bat first against Pakistan.
Dew has played a key role in Dubai and will continue to do so, prompting teams to prefer chasing in the contest. Pakistan have been lucky with the toss so far. However, Afghanistan have had an overwhelming success batting first and setting targets, winning 20 of the 24 matches since the last World T20.
If Pakistan have a good record in T20Is in UAE, winning 24 of the 38 matches, Afghanistan have it even better - winning 27 of the 34 matches in the country.
Mohammad Hafeez is the only Pakistani player to have played against Afghanistan in a T20I. Meanwhile, Afghanistan have six players who were a part of the lone T20I against Pakistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have played only one T20I against each other - in 2013. Pakistan won that match by 6 wickets with only a ball to spare.
Pakistan Probable XI: Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Afghanistan Probable XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen ul Haq, Mujeeb ur Rahman
Hello and welcome to the live commentary and updates of the Pakistan vs Afghanistan Super 12, Group 2 match. The impressive wins over India and New Zealand has made Pakistan the team to watch out in this tournament but the unpredictability factor that has always surrounded this team is something what their Asian neighbours can benefit from. The Babar Azam-led side will certainly go into this contest as favourites but Afghanistan is not a side that can be taken lightly now. A mix of powerful strikers and world-class spinners make them an exciting unit.