Afghanistan Edge Pakistan, One Step Away from the Final

The tri-nation T20 series in Sharjah is heating up. On Tuesday (September 2), Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by 18 runs to take a big step toward the final. Skipper Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah’s brilliant half-centuries powered Rashid Khan’s side to victory.

Batting first after winning the toss, Afghanistan got off to a poor start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell in just the second over. But Ibrahim and Sediqullah steadied the innings, adding a massive 113-run partnership for the second wicket. After a slow start, both shifted gears impressively. Sediqullah scored 64 off 45 (3 fours, 3 sixes), while Ibrahim hit 65 off 45 (8 fours, 1 six). Although Afghanistan couldn’t accelerate much in the death overs, their efforts set up a competitive total of 169. For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets for 27 runs.

In reply, Pakistan faltered early, losing both openers Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan to Fazalhaq Farooqi. Fakhar Zaman and Agha Salman showed some resistance, but once the partnership broke, Pakistan couldn’t recover. A late cameo from Haris Rauf kept things interesting. Coming in at No. 10, he smashed 34* off just 16 balls with 4 sixes, registering his career-best score. Along with Sufiyan Muqeem, he added 40 runs for the last wicket — the highest 10th-wicket stand in Pakistan’s T20I history. Still, it wasn’t enough as Pakistan were restricted to 151 in 20 overs.

For Afghanistan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Fazalhaq Farooqi all chipped in with 2 wickets each. The match also saw the international T20 debut of mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar, who bowled 3 overs for 24 runs without a wicket.

With this result, both Afghanistan and Pakistan now sit on 4 points each from 3 matches, while hosts UAE remain winless at the bottom.

Brief Scores:
Afghanistan: 169/5 in 20 overs (Sediqullah 64, Ibrahim 65; Faheem 4/27)
Pakistan: 151/9 in 20 overs (Haris Rauf 34*; Farooqi 2/21, Nabi 2/20, Rashid 2/30, Noor 2/20)