Afghanistan cricket team has created history. The Afghan team, captained by Rashid Khan, has created a big upset by defeating Pakistan in the first T20 International match of the 3-match series. Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the first T20 match played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and in international cricket, this is the first occasion where Afghanistan has defeated the Pakistan team. With this, host Afghanistan has taken a 1-0 lead in the series.
Earlier, the Pakistan team, captained by Shadab Khan, won the toss and decided to bat first. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been rested for this series. In this T20 series, 4 players made their debut for Pakistan. Saim Ayub, Tayyab Tahir, fast bowler Zaman Khan, and Ihsanullah debuted in T20 International cricket through this match.
Pakistani captain Shadab Khan won the toss and elected to bat first but this decision backfired him as the Pakistan team bundled out on 92 only. Pakistan’s batters looked helpless in front of Afghanistan’s bowling attack. Pakistan’s team batters, Saim Ayub (17), Tayyab Tahir (16), Imad Wasim (18), and Shadab Khan (12), none of the other batters could touch double figures. Pakistan’s team could only score 92 runs for 9 wickets. Fast bowlers Fazhallaq Farooqui, Mujeeb ur Rehman, and Mohammad Nabi took 2-2 wickets each for Afghanistan.
Chasing the target of 93 runs, the Afghanistan team suffered 4 setbacks on the total score of 45 runs. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (16), Ibrahim Zadran (9), Gulbadin Naib (zero), and Karim Jannat scored 7 runs. Amidst all this, experienced Nabi played an important role in helping Afghanistan win by scoring an unbeaten 38 off 38 balls. Najibullah Zadran supported him well by scoring 17 not out.
Afghanistan took the match by scoring 98 runs for 4 wickets in 17.5 overs. Because of Nabi’s all-around performance, he was adjudged player of the match.
Earlier, the teams of Pakistan and Afghanistan had clashed in 3 T20 International matches where Pakistan had won all three times. The second T20 match of the series will be played on 26th March.
