Afghanistan notch up second successive win on a trot

Ibrahim Zadran (65) and Sediqullah Atal (64) smashed fiery fifties as Afghanistan mauled Pakistan by 18 runs to notch up second consecutive victory in the tri-series at Sharjah Stadium.

Their 113-run stand for the second wicket was the cornerstone of Afghanistan innings which propelled them to a fighting total of 169/5.

Pakistan were off to a stuttering start as they lost the opener Sam Ayub for a duck with 10 runs on the board.  

The trio of Afghanistan spinners Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed wreaked havoc after pace spearhead Fazalhaq Farooqi and ignited a skid.

Farooqi had Ayub caught by Gurbaz to give Afghanistan the first breakthrough before rattling the stumps of Sahebzada Farhan to make it 29/2.

After that, Pakistan kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals. Only Fakhar Zaman and captain Salman Agha showed some resistance to ignite a brief optimism.

Fakhar was sent back by Nabi before Agha was found short of ground while scrambling for a suicidal single which never existed as his Afghanistan counterpart Rashid dislodged the bails with a direct throw.

Pakistan seemed to have given up long before the match officially got over. Coach Mike Hesson's strategy of playing with a deep batting line-up did not help the cause.

Harris Rauf's late blitz of 16-ball 34, peppered with four sixes, was the only entertainment for the Pakistani fans.

Earlier, Sediqullah and Zadran once again came to the rescue of Afghanistan innings with a tone-setting partnership after Rahmanullah Gurbaz failed in the second consecutive match.

Gurbaz, who scored 38 in the first match, could not reach the two-figure mark for the second time on a trot, which put Afghanistan under pressure right from the beginning.

He was sent back by Ayub when attempting to sweep to the square leg. The ball went miles up in the air and Hasan Nawaz took a diving catch to dismiss the danger man.

After losing the first wicket early in the innings, Afghanistan were pushed on the back foot. Pakistan bowlers exploited the situation and kept it very tight as Afghanistan could manage to reach only 34 at the end of the first power play, when all the fielders were inside the circle except two.

Runs were difficult to come but the priority was to stop the skid and share a big partnership to set the tone. Both Zadran and Atal did exactly the same.

They applied themselves and played with a cautious approach to stop any further damage. They started off slowly, got their eyes in and then unleashed the carnage like they did against UAE on the previous day.

They kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles, hitting occasional boundaries. After the end of the power play, Atal flexed his muscles and took 15 runs off Hasan Nawaz to ease the pressure.

Atal and Zadran plundered 20 runs off 14th over bowled by Muqim. Zadran hit a boundary and exchanged the strike as Atal played a reverse sweep over the short third man to complete his second successive fifty.

He tonked Muqim for a six off the next ball over the deep midwicket before Zadran finished the over with another boundary near the long on. The carnage looked unstoppable, forcing Pakistan’s captain to change bowling faster than a chameleon changes colour.

The uneasiness was creeping through the Pakistan camp which was vividly palpable. Medium pacer Ashraf turned out to be man of the hour on a spin-friendly turf.

Ashraf not only broke the partnership but also triggered a late collapse to thwart Afghanistan at least 15 runs short of the projected score.

Ashraf bowled a slower one to deceive Atal by pace. Atal tried to slog but the lack of pace resulted in the shot ending up half the way to the target with Hasan Nawaz completing a running catch.

Atal’s dismissal opened the flood gates for Ashraf as he ripped through the middle order. After the departure of Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai became the second victim of Ashraf.

Omarzai, who got a reprieve on a personal score of two, spurned a chance to capitalise on it after being dropped by Mohammad Nawaz off Ashraf in the deep fine leg. Fahim caught him off his own bowling.

Two balls later, Fahim got Zadran caught by Mohammad Nawaz before getting rid of Mohammad Nabi to complete his four-wicket haul.

Afghanistan made a change to their playing eleven, bringing AM Ghazanfar.