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Afghanistan have never beaten Pakistan before this series began, and now, they won both matches emphatically to seal the series with a game in hand. Yes, Pakistan don't have a full team to challenge these hungry Afghan players but still, they shouldn't have any excuse for their batting failure yet again.
The spinners made things tough in the middle overs, and out of the blue, this match had everyone on the edge of their seats but Najib and Nabi shouldered the responsibility and finished things superbly. We have one more encounter to go tomorrow and it's interesting to see how the inexperienced Pakistan top-order play against Fazalhaq Farooqi inside the powerplay. Do join us at 9:00 PM IST for the LIVE coverage of the final T20I, until then, this is Pragadeesh and Karthik Raj saying goodbye and goodnight
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan Captain) - It's a great honor to lead this wonderful team and winning against Pakistan is always great. The bowlers bowled brilliantly. This wicket is always a 150-160 wicket but the Afghanistan-Pakistan game is always high pressure and 160 became 130 in the end. 130 is a good total but you never know. The strategy was to take the game deep and that's what Gurbaz and Ibrahim did. When you have batters like Najib, Nabi and Janat, we can chase anything over 11 runs.
Shadab Khan (Pakistan Captain) - It was a good score considering how we started. Nervousness is a factor because a few guys are playing international cricket for the first time. They have talent and we have to back them. This is a beaut of a cricket - sometimes you perform and sometimes you are not. We are playing for pride tomorrow but we will look to win
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Player of the Match: First of all, I want to congratulate everyone back home. It is a special moment to win the match and the series. I like to swing the ball early and attack to take a few wickets in the Powerplay. To be honest, Pakistan is a top-ranked side and it is a proud moment for us!
Time for the Post-match Presentation!
Afghanistan won by 7 wickets Rahmanullah Gurbaz 44(49) | Imad Wasim 64(57) Fazalhaq Farooqi 2-19(4) | Zaman Khan 1-22(3.5)
What a nerve-wracking finish we witnessed in Sharjah. This game had a lot of twists and turns, but eventually, the better team prevailed in the end. It was also a night to remember for the Afghan fans as they witnessed their side not only reign supreme against Pakistan again but also won the T20I series for the first time against a top 6 team
Gurbaz was going after Naseem Shah straightaway and hammered a 98m six but Zaman Khan was threatening with his pace and bounce as he removed Ghani cheaply. It looked the hosts were in cruise control of the match once the powerplay got over but the Pakistan spinners made things tough in the middle overs and didn't concede any easy boundaries. It took 49 deliveries for Afghanistan to end the boundary drought even though they had two well-set batters at the crease
Gurbaz lost his wicket via run out and Ihsanullah got rid of Ibrahim to turn the match in Pakistan's favour. The momentum was with the visitors until the penultimate over but Naseem Shah was targeted by Nabi and Najib as they smashed a six respectively and scored 18 runs off that over, much to the delight of the rapturous Afghan fans at the stands. Then Zaman Khan had too little to defend but still, he made things tough but couldn't stop the hosts from crossing the finish line
HEAR THE ROAR!!! Afghanistan have beaten Pakistan to win the series with a game in hand. It's a historic moment for them as they won the series against a team that is ranked in the top 6 for the first time
19.5 Zaman Khan to Najibullah Zadran, EDGED AND AFGHANISTAN WIN! FOUR!! Full and angling away, Najibullah looks to slash hard but he gets a thick outside-edge to third. Ihsanullah runs in and puts in a dive but he can't get to the ball. It runs away to the fence for a boundary as Afghanistan win the match and the series!
19.4 Zaman Khan to Mohammad Nabi, yorker from Zaman, Nabi squeezes it past the bowler to mid-off. Single taken!
19.3 Zaman Khan to Najibullah Zadran, slower back of a length delivery, Najibullah looks to swing hard but he misses. Azam fumbles and the batters get across for a bye!
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Sharjah Cricket Stadium
