Pakistan Defeat Afghanistan in Tri-Series, Salman and Rauf Star

Pakistan clinch 39-run win over Afghanistan as captain Salman Agha unscathed fifty and a devastating spell by Haris Rauf set the tri-series in T20I curtain-raiser.

Pakistan started their T20I tri-series campaign in a grand way as they beat Afghanistan by 39 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The 53 not out, by Captain Salman Agha and 4-31 by Haris Rauf turned out to be the clincher as Pakistan entered 182/7 and then limited Afghanistan to 143 in an all-around batting and bowling performance that was about to be completed.

It was all the aggression of Pakistan that started the match, and opener Sahibzada Farhan declared his intentions already in the opening over. This time the ideal stage was afforded Farhan who, with only 10 balls, knocked 21, and amongst others liked Fazalhaq Farooqi with a six that seemed to fly into the head of the bowler with the fourth ball of the innings.

The assault by Farhan has gone on when he sent Azmatullah Omarzai to make another maximum over midwicket and this has shown that Pakistan is serious about their aggressive game plan. His innings ended by the 15th ball with Omarzai trapping him in the leg side but Farhan got away with a blistering start that offered Pakistan essential early momentum.

The buffer that Farhan had left behind by his explosive introduction, was essential because the spinners of Afghanistan, led by the most formidable of them, Rashid Khan, inflicted great pressure in the middle overs. Only 51 runs were managed by Pakistan in the next eight overs as they lost regular wickets but due to the initial base they were well placed to make a late surge.

The most memorable part of the Pakistan innings was an unforeseen one whereby the captain, Salman Agha, had to face one of the greatest spinners in the world, Rashid Khan, in a captain against captain battle. Although Rashid is considered to be one of the best T20I bowlers in the world, Salman demonstrated great bravery and ability to counter the bowling weapon of Afghanistan.

Having warmed up with boundaries off Fareed Ahmad in the last over Salman made a judged attack on Rashid, and sent off two magnificent sixes on the leg side in an over which yielded 17. This aggressive strategy had turned the tide totally and offered the impetus behind the completion surge by Pakistan.

The example of his captain was taken by Mohammad Nawaz, who came into the late-innings fray when Omarzai renewed the offensive. The two sixes by Nawaz in the 15 th over would serve as a good example of the overall batting philosophy and the readiness to attack that Pakistan had in the course of their innings.

The total Pakistan scored was anchored by Salman who scored 53 out of 36 deliveries without slowing the pace. The strategic thinking of Pakistan was perfectly displayed in his innings, which entailed taking calculated risks with a continuous pressure on the opponent bowling attack.

The batting lineup of Pakistan was also strong as witnessed by their contribution in the lower order. No. 6, 7 and 8 – Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris and Faheem Ashraf – put together a whopping 50 runs out of 29 balls, which illustrates the richness that makes Pakistan a very powerful T20I team.

This strategy of theirs enabled Pakistan to amass 99 runs in the last nine overs turning what looked like a modest score into a difficult one in the Sharjah surface. Tactical maturity was also demonstrated by the ability of Pakistan to speed up steadily over the innings, not just because of the boundaries of power play.

The pursuit of Afghanistan started with a mission and tact. Rahmanullah Gurbaz made good use of the powerplay and Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal took a more conservative stance but indicated that Afghanistan relied greatly on their strong lower order to recover any territory lost in the first overs.

This strategy was successful in the first round and Afghanistan was holding an unchanging required rate and saving wickets. Darwish Rasooli and Atal created a promising partnership that put Afghanistan at 93/2 at 11 overs with only a little more than 8 runs being necessary with 9 overs to see out.

The calculated strategy was indicative of the confidence of Afghanistan to their batting strength and capacity to pick up speed when they needed it. Such a plan was, however, to be ruined by a fatal salvo of the pace spearhead of Pakistan.

The turning point was reached in the 12 th over when Haris Rauf delivered a match defining double wicket maiden that totally derailed the pursuit of Afghanistan. Rauf pressed with intense speed that continued to push the 150kph limit and caused havoc with two hits with devastating power as he pressed with dot balls.

Despairing of what was happening, Sediqullah Atal tried to escape but only managed to find Shaheen Shah Afridi who was in deep third man. Karim Janat came in right behind, and before he could hit the first two some wrong drove to deep square leg.

The psychological effect of the breakthrough by Rauf over was simply unsurmountable to the middle order in Afghanistan. It was the maiden in the double-wicket that caused the spectacular collapse as Afghanistan lost five wickets in four runs in 16 deliveries.

After this disastrous intervention of Rauf, Afghanistan lost its batting line-up altogether. With the same stroke, Sufiyan Muqeem took away Rasooli and Mohammed Nabi was taken by the next blow of Muqeem. Mohammad Nawaz finished the job, by stamping on Omarzai, who rushed down the pitch.

Between the 12 and 16 years of age, Afghanistan scored only 6 out of 24 balls losing 5 key wickets. This phenomenal collapse in turn turned what seemed like a competitive race into a dead end, the thin margins that come with T20I cricket.

Rashid Khan however, although the situation was hopeless, gave some late entertainment with a characteristically aggressive 39 off only 16 balls. There were some good strokes in his retaliating innings, which recalled to the observers his power with the bat, but by this time Afghanistan were so far out of the reckoning as to be unable to make any serious opposition.

The later rush of Rashid was but as well as a matter of concession, showing his soldierly spirit and lessening the degree of defeat. But the destruction caused in the collapse of the middle-order was irreparable.

Pakistan’s standout performers:

Salman Agha: 53* (36 balls) – Match-winning captain’s knock
Haris Rauf: 4/31 – Battering ball such as double-wicket maiden
Sahibzada Farhan: 21 (10 balls) – Explosive start
Mohammad Nawaz: Valuable runs and crucial wicket

Afghanistan’s notable contributions:

Rashid Khan: 39 (16 balls)- lost cause fighting innings.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 38 – Solid foundation
Fareed Ahmad: 2/47 – Pick of the bowlers

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This all round win is a perfect boost to Pakistan as it enters into the rest of the tri-series. The over aggressive batting, especially by the captain and the penetrative bowling implies that Pakistan are well prepared to excel in this form of tournament.

In the case of Afghanistan, the meltdown will act as a bitter lesson of the need to stay calm in the pressure of T20I cricket. Although they promised in the batting and bowling stages, failure to manage the important middle-overs stint eventually cost them.

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