England all rounder Ben Stokes lauds Asif Ali after his onslaught with the bat during Pakistan vs Bangladesh T20 World Cup match
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All the hype before the start of the Super 12, Group 2 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup between Afghanistan and Pakistan truly lived up to the expectation of the Cricket fans as Pakistan win by 5 wickets in a cliffhanger of a game.
It is worth mentioning that this is Pakistan’s 14th consecutive T20I victory on UAE soil and their 3rd consecutive in as many matches in the ongoing 2021 T20 World Cup.
Chasing a par total of 147 at the Dubai International stadium, the foundation was well laid by Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (51 off 47 deliveries) and southpaw Fakhar Zaman (30 off 25 deliveries). But, it was just a seven ball stay at the crease by the hard hitting sensation- Asif Ali that stole the show in the end as Pakistan were in a state of bother with wickets tumbling down at regular intervals during the dying stages of the match.
Ben Stokes dons the Ian Bishop hat; praises Asif Ali
Needing 24 runs off the final two overs, pressure had been built by the Afghan bowlers, but four humongous sixes smashed by Asif Ali in the 19th over off Afghan pacer Karim Janat meant that he had the best in the business- even the English all-rounder- Ben Stokes up on his feet as the latter took to his social media handle to praise the brilliant cameo by Asif Ali.
He smashed 25 runs in just the 7 deliveries he faced to seal the deal for Pakistan with an over to spare. Stokes donned the Ian Bishop hat and exclaimed his famous ‘Remember the name” in praise for Asif Ali.
Talking about the match, it was a brave decision by the Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi who decided to bat first after winning the Toss, given that all the four previous matches at this venue had been won by teams batting second. The idea must have been to play positive and aggressive Cricket with the bat and let their strength- the spin department, try and defend the total with all their might and experience. But, barring a few blows in the fag end of the innings by Gulbadin Naib (35 off 25) and skipper Nabi (35 off 32), the Afghan batters just couldn’t get their run rate up and running in the manner they would have liked.
