Players pulled apart in ugly T20 confrontation

2 years ago 159

Pakistan teen Naseem Shah smashed back-to-back sixes successful the past implicit against Afghanistan for a one-wicket triumph that sets up the Asia Cup last against Sri Lanka.

Needing 11 disconnected the past implicit and with lone 1 wicket successful hand, the 19-year-old Shah clobbered consecutive sixes disconnected accelerated bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi's 2 debased afloat tosses to instrumentality Pakistan to 9-131.

In a crippled dominated by bowlers, Pakistan besides did good to restrict Afghanistan to 6-129 done its pacers and spinners. Shah had earlier cleanable bowled skipper Mohammad Nabi for a aureate duck to decorativeness with 1-19.

Pakistan's triumph besides ended India's slim chances to scope adjacent Sunday's final.

Tempers flared toward the extremity erstwhile accelerated bowler Fareed Khan reduced Pakistan to 9-118 successful the 19th implicit by having Asif Ali (16) dismissed.

The players exchanged words arsenic Asif raised his bat adjacent to Fareed's look and they pushed each different earlier Afghanistan players rushed to abstracted the 2 (watch the video astatine the apical of the leafage to spot the exchange).

A jubilant Shah threw distant his helmet and batting gloves portion sprinting toward the dressing country erstwhile his past deed sailed implicit agelong disconnected and his teammates besides rushed onto the tract to observe the breathtaking win.

"To beryllium honest, it was rather a tense situation successful the dressing room," Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said. "I was successful the dressing country … I thought it is cricket and I person seen Naseem bat similar this, truthful I had a small spot of belief."

The left-armer Farooqi had enactment Pakistan connected the backfoot erstwhile helium trapped Babar limb earlier wicket for a aureate duck and past struck doubly successful his penultimate implicit earlier bowling 2 afloat tosses to Shah successful the past implicit to extremity up with 3-34.

Babar has struggled successful the Asia Cup aft his 4 consecutive below-par scores of 10, 9, 14 and 0, but Pakistan's middle-order has done good successful the tourney successful run-chases.

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan (2-25) had recently crowned No.1 T20 batter Mohammad Rizwan limb earlier wicket earlier Shadab Khan (36) and Iftikhar Ahmed (30) steadied the pursuit with a 42-run partnership.

But Afghanistan didn't springiness up successful the decease overs and claimed six speedy wickets erstwhile Fareed Khan (3-31), playing his archetypal crippled successful the tournament, had Iftikhar caught astatine heavy midwicket successful the 16th over.

Shadab besides went down successful the adjacent implicit arsenic helium apical edged Rashid to backward constituent aft hitting the leg-spinner for a six, but couldn't defy going for different large hit.

Earlier, aft being enactment successful to bat Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai perished against Pakistan gait wrong the batting powerplay. Spinners Mohammad Nawaz (1-23) and Shadab (1-27) dried retired the runs successful the mediate overs arsenic Afghanistan batters struggled to propulsion the scoring rate.

Shadab claimed the cardinal wicket of Najibullah Zadran (10) and Haris Rauf varied his gait successful the decease to decorativeness with 2-26 arsenic helium got escaped of top-scorer Ibrahim Zadran (35).

"The boys were superb with the shot and successful the field, but again we didn't decorativeness well," Nabi said. "We didn't power our nerves astatine the end. We gave 2 options to the bowlers, slower balls and yorkers, and sadly we couldn't execute it erstwhile we needed to."

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!