Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi admitted that they didn’t finish well as they couldn’t hold their nerves against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. 11 runs were needed off the final over for Pakistan and Naseem Shah was able to hit two sixes on the first two balls against Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Afghanistan had put their noses ahead in the game as Asif Ali was dismissed in the penultimate over but Shah played a blinder. Farooqi could not keep his nerves in the final over as he bowled two full tosses and Shah was able to capitalize in the end.
Afghanistan could only post 129 runs on the board but they were able to put Pakistan under pressure in the second innings as they kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
Mohammad Nabi said in the post-match presentation, “Yes the bowling and the fielding was brilliant, but we didn’t finish well and we didn’t hold our nerves. We didn’t leave the game at any stage. The boys fought on every ball. Again, it was the end, both with the bat and with the ball. We thought that we chased well against Bangladesh. We knew it would be tough chasing 130 here, and that’s why we looked to bowl dot balls. We didn’t give easy singles. The plan on the last two deliveries was to bowl slower bouncers or bowl yorkers, but he (Farooqi) didn’t execute his plans. We will try our best to play the last game with the same energy. We have a game tomorrow now. Thanks for the support, it was lovely from the fans here.”
On the other hand, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam gave credit to Naseem Shah for playing a little cameo of 4-ball 14 to get his team over the line.
Azam said after the game, “To be honest, the dressing room was very tensed. The team was walking in and out of the dressing room. Excellent with the way Naseem Shah finished it off. Sharjah is always low-scoring, and Mujeeb and Rashid Khan are two of the best bowlers. We just wanted to take the match deep. The way we started with the ball was excellent. In our batting, we didn’t execute our plans very well, but Naseem was outstanding. At the back of the mind, I have seen Naseem play like this earlier, and I had the belief in him. This moment reminds me of Javed Miandad’s six. We would like to continue this momentum and not repeat our mistakes. Every day is a different day, and we would like to take it day by day.”
Afghanistan is now knocked out of the Asia Cup whereas Pakistan has secured their berth for the final against Sri Lanka, which will be played on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
