The Asia Cup 2018 was filled with one-sided encounters. But the Pakistan-Afghanistan game proved to be an exception. It went right down to the wire and could have been any one’s game until the last over. The experienced Shoaib Malik kept his nerves and drew Pakistan out of jail to win the match.

Pakistani bowlers made a good start in the game by bagging 2 early wickets, after Afghanistan batted first after winning the toss. Rahmat Shah got out after scoring a decent 36. The Afghans were in a slight spot of bother at 94/3 in the 26th over.

The skipper Asghar Afghan combined well with Hashmatullah Shahidi and the duo bailed the side out of trouble. Asghar opted for the aggressive approach while Shahidi stood firm. They added 94 runs for the 4th wicket before Asghar departed for 67 off 56 balls courtesy the debutant Shaheen Afridi.

Shahidi took matters into his own hands and accelerated in the slog overs. Afghanistan scored 87 runs in the last 10 overs to reach 257/6. Shahidi stayed unbeaten at 97 off 118 balls. There was a moment in the final over when he looked to retain the strike in order to achieve 3 figures. That cost the side a couple of runs which, in the hindsight, proved costly.

Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman for a duck in the first over to Mujeeb Ur Rahman. It was a huge blow considering the kind of form Fakhar has been in. But from then on, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam built a solid platform. The duo added 154 runs for the 2nd wicket before Imam was run-out for 80 in the 34th over.

Babar also departed 2 overs later when Rashid Khan well and truly brought his side back into the game. Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail added 36 runs before the latter was removed by Mujeeb. The situation was getting tense out there when the required rate kept creeping up.

Shoaib Malik kept his cool

Pakistan lost 3 more wickets in the process as Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali and Mohammad Nawaz fell under pressure. Rashid tried his best and bowled the penultimate over to keep it to 10 runs from the final over. Malik was still at the crease and he was patient.

Aftab Alam came on to bowl the last over and bowled a crucial dot ball first up. But Malik was unflustered and smacked the next ball for six over square leg. It had to be the Men in Green with 4 needed from 4. The experienced batsman didn’t waste any time and sent the ball to the rope to seal the game. He made 51 not out from 43 balls as Pakistan won the match by 3 wickets.

Match Summary

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first

Afghanistan: 257/6 in 50 overs

Hashmatullah Shahidi 97* (118), Asghar Afghan 67 (56)

Mohammad Nawaz 57/3 (10), Shaheen Afridi 38/2 (10)

Pakistan: 258/7 in 49.3 overs

Imam-ul-Haq 80 (104), Babar Azam 66 (94)

Rashid Khan 46/3 (10), Mujeeb Ur Rahman 33/2 (10)

Pakistan won by 3 wickets

Player of the Match: Shoaib Malik

Here is how Twitter reacted

Congratulations Pakistan. Great job guys. Well played Afghanistan, put up a good fight. — Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 21, 2018

ALHAMDULILAH ??? — Salman Butt (@im_SalmanButt) September 21, 2018

Pakistan's best player under pressure is still Shoaib Malik — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 21, 2018

Afghanistan could have…should have finished with 259. Two runs in the last over. Hope that’s not the match for them tonight. #PakvAfg #AsiaCup — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 21, 2018

A fine ODI debut bowling performance by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Bowled with pace, aggression and accuracy. Had catches dropped also but persisted bravely #AFGvPAK — Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 21, 2018

– Another spirited performance by Afghanistan. They are moving up & up. Their brand of cricket is fascinating.

The classical way of accelerating in the end .. — Asif Khan (@mak_asif) September 21, 2018

Some runs squandered in the last couple of deliveries to let Shahidi get a century, which is unacceptable at this level. Shahidi otherwise was superb and Afghanistan have 257 on the board which would make lunch quite distasteful for Pakistan — Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 21, 2018

Afghanistan,what a spirited performance,especially Shahidi batted sensibly and took his team till the end! #AFGvPAK — zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) September 21, 2018

Pakistan have won the match but Afghanistan surely has won the hearts! This match should be an eye opener for Pakistan. No more complacency, stop taking your place in team for granted. — Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) September 21, 2018

Shoaib Malik wins it with a couple of crosscourt forehands #AFGvPAK #AsiaCup2018 — Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) September 21, 2018

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