Man of the Match: The Pakistani batter won the match award for sealing a tense chase at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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During the 24th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Dubai, Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets to register their third victory in a row in this tournament.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi’s brave decision to bat first after winning the toss saw his team scoring a competitive 147/6 in their allotted quota of 20 overs.
After being reduced to 76/6 in the 13th over, Nabi (35 not out) and all-rounder Gulbadin Naib (35 not out) put together an unbeaten 71-run partnership for the seventh wicket to steer their team to a respectable total. With bowling figures of 4-0-25-2, Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim was the pick of their bowlers.
Man of the Match today Pakistan vs Afghanistan
Having lost vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan (8) in the powerplay, Pakistan didn’t get off to the best of starts. However, captain Babar Azam’s (51) 22nd T20I half-century guided them towards a victory.
Known for their potent spin-bowling attack, Afghanistan made the chase quite difficult for Pakistan with them needing 24 runs in the last two overs. It was at this point in time that Asif Ali emulated West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite to hit four consecutive sixes and seal the chase in a breathtaking manner with eight balls to spare.
Ali, who scored 25* (7) at a crucial juncture, did the exact of what is expected out of him as a finisher. The 30-year old player put on display a third consecutive impact-generating knock for his team.
“I would like to congratulate the Pakistan team and all our fans. I was confident of finishing it off from this end and that’s what I told Shoaib Malik before he got out.
“I look at the situation of the match, and I target the bowlers accordingly. I was talking to Shoaib when I walked in to bat and I told him that I was confident enough of getting 20-25 in one over against Karim Janat, which I did,” Ali said after winning the Man of the Match during the post-match presentation ceremony.
