Pakistan beat Afghanistan in nail-biting Asia Cup encounter

Sports Desk: Afghanistan set Pakistan a 258-run target to chase in their Asia Cup 2018 Super Four match in Abu Dhabi. The match was decided in the very last over, as Pakistan chased the target with only three balls to spare.

Pakistan started the innings steadily and took minimal risks, more so due to the loss of Fakhar Zaman early in the innings. Zaman was adjudged leg before wicket without troubling the scorers.

At the end of the first 15 overs, Pakistan had managed to put only 57 runs on the board for the loss of one wicket.

Opener Imam-ul-Haq partnered with Babar Azam to build a decent second-wicket partnership of 154 runs. Imam scored 80 before being run out, while Babar looked steady for his 66.

But it was Shoaib Malik who starred for Pakistan, scoring a blistering of 51 runs off 43 balls to see his team through.

After Asghar Afghan, the Afghanistan captain, won the toss and decided to bat first, Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah opened their innings, whereas Usman Shinwari and Shaheen Afridi shared the new ball for Pakistan.

Line-ups
Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 1 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 6 Asif Ali, 7 Haris Sohail, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Usman Khan, 11 Shaheen Afridi

Afghanistan: 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Ihsanullah Janat, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Asghar Afghan (capt), 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Aftab Alam, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman


risingbd/Spet 22, 2018/Mukul