Afghanistan defeated Shabad Khan-led Pakistan by six wickets in the 1st T20I at Sharjah, which was only their 8th white-ball encounter in 11 years. Khan won the toss and opted to bat. Little did they know the struggles that awaited them.
On a pitch that was pretty challenging to bat on, Afghanistan kept a tight grip on Pakistan's batters and did not, for once, let them loose. The fact that Saim Ayub's score of 17 off 15 deliveries was the highest among Shadbad's team speaks volumes of how well Afghanistan bowled, or well, how badly Pakistan batted.
New Lows For Men in Green
- First Loss against Afghanistan in 11 years
- Fifth lowest score for Pakistan in T20Is
- Pakistan's 9th below 100 score in T20Is
- Pakistan 92/9 in 20 overs is the second slowest innings in terms of run rate (4.6)
For Afghanistan, Fazal-Haq-Farooqui took two wickets for just 13 runs in 4 overs, while Mujeeb ur Rehman gave only 9 runs in 4 overs and took two wickets. Apart from this, Mohammad Nabi also took two wickets for 12 runs in 3 overs. Captain Rashid Khan, Azmatullah and Naveen ul Haq also took a wicket each.
In reply, Afghanistan chased the target of 93 runs, losing just four wickets in the process. At one stage, it looked as if the Pakistan bowlers were up to something, but Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran made sure that no further damage was done, as the team chased down the total with 13 balls to spare.
The same venue will host the 2nd T20I on March 26, Sunday.
