Pakistan vs Afghanistan highlights, T20I Tri-Series Match 1: PAK beat AFG by 39 runs after losing 5 wickets for 4 runs

Another wicket as all the gains from that Rashid Khan innings are undone for AFG. 

Shaheen Shah Afridi gets the wicket of Mujeeb Ur Rahman as AFG lose their 9th wicket. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman b Shaheen Shah Afridi 4 (9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 44.44

After hitting three sixes in one over against Haris Rauf, Rashid Khan departs on the final ball of that same over. 

A good cameo comes to an end. Afghanistan needed these fireworks at the start of the innings. 

It's come a little too late in the day for the AFG side to mount a chase.

Rashid Khan c Hasan Nawaz b Haris Rauf 39 (16b 1x4 5x6) SR: 243.75

Rashid Khan has not thrown in the towel yet! After hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six over deep mid wicket in the second ball of the 16th over, and a six and a four against Sufiyan Muqeem in the 17th over, he tonks Haris Rauf for three sixes in the 18th over.

AFG needed 75 runs from 24 balls at one stage. But Rashid's blitz means that they need 42 runs from 13 balls.

Another over, another first ball wicket for Sufiyan Muqeem. This time he sends back Mohammad Nabi, who tries to hit a maximum to relieve the tension but ends up handing Faheem Ashraf at long off a slightly difficult catch on the ropes.

Mohammad Nabi c Faheem Ashraf b Sufiyan Muqeem 3 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50

AFGHANISTAN HAVE LOST FIVE WICKETS FOR FOUR RUNS IN SPAN OF 17 BALLS

Afghanistan have gone from 92/2 to 95/6 in what is an extraordinary slump! AFG lost four wickets in 13 balls! 

The latest to depart is Azmatullah Omarzai who gets stumped! And it's Nawaz who gets the wicket. 

Azmatullah Omarzai st †Mohammad Haris b Mohammad Nawaz 0 (5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Third wicket for Pakistan in five balls! And no runs in that series of five balls. AFG slump from 92/2 to 93/5.

This time it is Sufiyan Muqeem who sends back Darwish Rasooli on the first ball of that over!  And the Afghanistan innings starting to unravel here!

A good catch from Muqeem to get his first wicket in the match in his second over. To make matters worse, Muqeem ends the over giving away just one run! 

Darwish Rasooli c & b Sufiyan Muqeem 21 (13b 1x4 1x6) SR: 161.53

WHAT AN OVER FROM HARIS RAUF: ZERO RUNS, TWO WICKETS 

Pakistan are in the driver's seat here! 

After sending home Sediqullah Atal on the third ball, Rauf sends back Karim Janat on the final ball of the 12th over as Afghanistan start to unravel. 

Karim Janat c Hasan Nawaz b Haris Rauf 0 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

Sediqullah Atal departs as AFG lose their third wicket! Haris Rauf gives Pakistan an important breakthrough as Atal departs for 23 off 19.

Atal had tonked two maximums and no boundaries. But he gets done in by the slower delivery from Rauf! Ended up slicing the ball with a one-handed shot as he was early into the shot! Shaheen Shah Afridi runs in off the deep third fence and takes an easy one! 

Sediqullah Atal c Shaheen Shah Afridi b Haris Rauf 23 (19b 0x4 2x6) SR: 121.05

Darwish Rasooli is almost trying to throw away his wicket here! Salman Agha introduced himself into the attack, and almost got a wicket in his first over: casual shot from the batter goes straight at the bowler -- Pakistan's half centurion, who cannot hang on! 

In the next over, Rasooli again hits the ball casually in the air and the diving extra cover fielder is just metres away from the ball. He cannot catch it! 

That's two chances in span of just five balls! 

AFG: 85/2 after 10 overs

Quicker, fuller, and rocks the stumps! Nawaz gets Pakistan a breakthrough and it's a wicket they really wanted! Gurbaz departs for 38 and Pakistan are back in the game! 

After 4 overs, Afghanistan were 23/1. After 8, they were 68/2. That was the impact of Rahmanullah Gurbaz after the AFG team had lost Ibrahim Zadran early on. Gurbaz was hitting sixes at will in Sharjah, but before he could do more damage, he's dismissed. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Mohammad Nawaz 38 (27b 3x4 1x6) SR: 140.74

Haris Rauf was bowling a good over, conceding six runs off five balls. And then out of nowhere, Gurbaz tonks the ball into the stands for a maximum and you see a few creases of worry on the brows of Pakistan players! 

Gurbaz doing all the damage for Afghanistan with a 35-run blitz in the powerplay overs. The six powerplay overs end for Afghanistan with a special six from Gurbaz as they reach 50/1.

Atal is just farming the strike back to the batter who is in hot form here. 

So Shaheen Shah Afridi is given a relief which is a questionable call by the captain, Salman Agha, especially after he got them the breakthrough!

Faheem Ashraf is handed the ball for the fifth over, and he concedes 15 runs in his first over! That's a stress relief of an over for Afghanistan after the fourth over yielded just six runs.  

Rahmanullah Gurbaz doing all the damage at the moment for Afghanistan, scoring 25 runs off 17 ball with three hits to the fence. 

After five overs, AFG are 38/1

Shaheen Shah Afridi gets Pakistan the breakthrough in the third over! He gets rid of the dangerous Zadran for just nine runs! Hits the stumps with a ball that rocks the stumps! Zadran done in by the length of the ball and the subtle swing  that the pacer is getting! The tension was building up for Afghanistan, and Shaheen gets them the wicket.

Ibrahim Zadran b Shaheen Shah Afridi 9 (11b 2x4 0x6) SR: 81.81

A solid over for Pakistan from Nawaz, who recovers from the boundary on the first ball to give away just two runs in the next five balls. 

AFG are 11/0 after 2 overs

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran start off AFG's chase of 183. Shaheen Shah Afridi with the ball for PAK. 

Salman Ali Agha scores an unbeaten 53 off 36 balls to play a captain's knock for this Pakistan side without Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam. At the end of the innings, a cameo of 14 runs off five balls from Faheem Ashraf helps Pakistan reach 182/7. 

Ashraf is run out on the final ball of the innings. Many cameos for Pakistan in that innings. 

Mohammad Haris's cameo ends on 15 runs off 13 balls. He was calmed down once by Salman Agha, when he was getting angsty. But this time, his instincts get the better of him as he hits the ball straight down Atal's throat. 

Mohammad Haris c Sediqullah Atal b Fareed Ahmad 15 (13b 1x4 0x6) SR: 115.38

Pakistan are 167/6 in the final over of the innings

Salman Agha has his 50! A captain's innings for the batter, who came into bat with Pakistan in deep trouble but rescued the team with a 50-run partnership with Nawaz. Three fours and three sixes from him so far. 

This is Agha's fourth T20 50 for Pakistan in 19 innings. And this one comes right when Pakistan needed it.  

Mohammad Haris is almost dismissed while trying to hit the ball to the fence after going down on one knee. The ball spins away from his bat and then misses the stumps too, but only by a whisker. 

That was close! And to add insult to injury, the ball finds the ropes! 

Mohammad Nawaz's cameo ends for 21 runs as he tries to up the run rate for the team with the end of the innings coming near. 

With captain Salman Agha, he put on a 50-run partnership for the 5th wicket. But then, got too ambitiouos and pays the price!

Another Pakistan wicket that falls right after a hit to the fence. This is becoming a pattern now with the Pakistan team.

Mohammad Nawaz c Darwish Rasooli b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 21 (11b 1x4 2x6) SR: 190.9 

From 83/4 to 125/4, Salman Ali Agha is playing a captain's innings here for Pakistan. He's batting on 41 (off 25 balls) at the moment and is the only batter for Pakistan so far to look completely comfortable on this slowish Sharjah pitch. 

The partnership with Mohammad Nawaz is 42 runs off 21 balls.  

Salman Ali Agha hits Rashid Khan for back-to-back sixes, in literally the same spot in the stadium. On both balls, Agha hits the ball over the ropes at deep backward square leg. But Rashid also beats him twice in the over with googlies, which luckily for the Pakistan captain, does not cause him losing a wicket. 

This is a momentum-changing over for Pakistan, who have been experiencing pressure for a while.

17 runs from the 13th over!  PAK: 112/4 after 13 overs! 

Fourth wicket down! Hasan Nawaz departs for 9 runs. Pakistan on 83/4 after 11.1 overs.

And we will have another Nawaz replacing him -- Mohammad Nawaz. 

Hasan Nawaz has been in great form for Pakistan. He tries to hit the ball straight over the bowler's head for a maximum. But the slowness in the pitch seems to be his undoing, and the ball falls into the hands of Atal, who picks the ball out of air with a few feet away from the ropes. 

Hasan Nawaz c Sediqullah Atal b Fareed Ahmad 9 (13b 1x4 0x6) SR: 69.23

Afghanistan are looking to tighten the noose around Pakistan necks. Mujeeb handed the ball as they look to keep Hasan Nawaz and Salman Agha in check after three wickets in the first 10 overs. 

Captain Salman Agha and Hasan Nawaz are in the middle trying to resuscitate the Pakistan innings after losing three wickets for just 63 runs. All of Pakistan’s top three batters — Sahibzada Farhan (21), Saim Ayub (14) and Fakhar Zaman (20) — all got starts, but threw their wickets away with reckless shots in the game. 

After 9 overs, Pakistan are 67/3

Fakhar Zaman departs as well! He tries to slap a maximum but ends up sending a shot straight into the hands of Zadran. That was needless from Zaman, just the previous ball he had hit a six. And then concedes the momentum on the next ball along with his wicket! 

Mohammad Nabi gets his first wicket of the night! 

Fakhar Zaman c Ibrahim Zadran b Mohammad Nabi 20 (17b 1x4 1x6) SR: 117.64

Rashid Khan comes into the attack, and after a few quiet balls, he gets the breakthrough! He sends home Saim Ayub, when the Pakistan batter was trying to go inside out and ended up sending a shot straight to the fielder at sweeper cover! 

Saim Ayub c Fareed Ahmad b Rashid Khan 14 (16b 2x4 0x6) SR: 87.5

PAKISTAN ARE 55/2

Afghanistan bring on Mohammad Nabi to round off the powerplay overs.Saim Ayub must be smacking his lips at the prospect of facing a spinner with the fielders in the fence. But Nabi gives away just one boundary and restricts Pakistan to 6 runs in the final over of the powerplay.

After 6 overs, Pakistan are 54/1

Fazalhaq Farooqi is ushered back into the attack after that first over which fetched Pakistan 12 runs. He has a couple of good first balls at the start, before he attempts a bouncer against Fakhar Zaman that hits him on the helmet and flies to the boundary ropes. We have a hold off as Zaman is given a concussion check. He's okay to continue. And right after the concussion check, he makes some width on the leg side and thumps the ball past the mid-on fielder to the boundary. On the next ball, he again swings the bat but cannot hit the ball to the ropes. 

A good over for Pakistan. 

Pakistan are 48/1 after 5 overs

The average first innings score in the powerplay overs at Sharjah is 47 runs since 2024. Can Pakistan better that? They're 32/1 after three overs. 

Pakistan lose their first wicket. Sahibzada Farhan dismissed after sending a half-volley on his pads straight into the hands of Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The wicket came right after he had smashed a towering six at the start of the over. 

Sahibzada Farhan c Mujeeb Ur Rahman b Azmatullah Omarzai 21 (10b 1x4 2x6) SR: 210

The over ends with Pakistan at 32/1 after 3 overs

Fazalhaq Farooqi gets just one over after that 12-run first over. Azmatullah Omarzai handed the ball and he gets welcome into the attack with a maximum! Sahibzada Farhan slaps the ball over mid wicket.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman introduced into the attack. He's coming back from a long injury layoff and starts off the over with three dot balls. But on the 4th ball, Saim Ayub makes room and slaps the ball to the fence on the legside. 

Despite that, Mujeeb has a good first over, ending with just 6 runs. 

Pakistan are 18/0 after 2 overs.

Pakistan batters struggling to time the ball early on in the first over. Fazalhaq Farooqi gives width on the first two balls and Sahibzada Farhan cannot hit the ball past the infield. But on the third ball, Farooqi jags the ball in sharply and the Pakistan batter just about survives as the ball grazes his pads and flies into the pads of the keeper. 

Farhan replies to that third ball by slapping the ball over the midoff fielder for a maximum! 

Another ball later, Farooqi responds with a delivery that just missed the edge. On the final ball, another edge from Farhan, which flies past slip fielders into the boundary.  

Pakistan are 12/0 after one over.

Here we go! Fazalhaq Farooqi with the ball for Afghanistan. Sahibzada Farhan on strike for the first ball! 

The Pakistan team at the tri-series does not have stalwarts like Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam. Thye will be led by Salman Ali Agha with pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi leading their bowling attack. 

Afghanistan have played plenty of cricket in UAE, which is why we see plenty of fans in the stands for the Afghan side. 

The conditions suit Afghan bowling, since they have a long line up of spinners. 

The pitch will probably play slow, says Bazid Khan.

Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (capt), Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmed

Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem

Pakistan have won the toss and captain Salman Agha has opted to bat first against Afghanistan. 

A cricket match between neighbouring countries always incites passions, and this was evident when Pakistan and Afghanistan met in in Sharjah in 2022 in a cricket match. In that game, there were clashes in the stands between Afghanistan and Pakistan supporters as Pakistan won by one wicket in the final over.

The violence had led to PCB writing to the ICC. Then-PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had even called it "hooliganism". Several Afghanistan fans were detained by the Sharjah police following the incident. 

"[My] message to everyone who comes and watches the games in the stadium is that cricket brings unity. It brings people and nations together. It sends a peaceful message. This game is all about enjoyment. We play this game to enjoy ourselves and give entertainment to the crowd and the fans. It's just a game of cricket. I ask people to come, enjoy themselves, support their respective teams and enjoy every moment of the game," Afghanistan captain Rashid said before Friday's game. 

Tri-series schedule (all matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium):

29 August – Afghanistan v Pakistan – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

30 August – UAE v Pakistan – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

1 September – UAE v Afghanistan – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

2 September – Pakistan v Afghanistan – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

4 September – Pakistan v UAE – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

5 September – Afghanistan v UAE – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

7 September – Final – 7pm local time (8.30 IST)

If we look at head-to-head records, Pakistan have played seven T20Is against Afghanistan. Of these they have won four, while their only T20I against the UAE came in the 2016 Asia Cup, which Pakistan won.

On the eve of Pakistan's first match in the tri-series tournament, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said: “This tri-series will greatly help us in our preparations for the Asia Cup. I am very excited about it and I know it will be a challenging contest for which we are fully ready. Leading the Pakistan team is not only an honour for me but also a great responsibility. The team is playing good cricket at the moment and I am hopeful we will continue to deliver strong performances in the matches ahead.”

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Afghanistan vs Pakistan T20I game from Sharjah. The tri-series assumes importance before the Asia Cup tournament.