File photo of Asif Ali.
AFG vs PAK T20 World Cup highlights: Asif Ali cameo fires Pakistan to win over Afghanistan
Pakistan 101/3 in 15 overs Rashid Khan picked his 100th T20I wicket against Pakistan in the game in Mohammad Hafeez (10) in the 15th over of the match. He surpassed T20 legend Lasith Malliga, who took 76 matches to reach the milestone.
Most Wickets in T20I
117 - Shakib Al Hasan
107 - Lasith Malinga
100 - Rashid Khan*
100 - Tim Southee
Fastest to 100 T20I wickets - by innings:
53 - Rashid Khan*
76 - Lasith Malinga
82 - Tim Southee
83 - Shakib Al Hasan
Afghanistan 147/6 in 20 overs A tight over from Afridi to end the Afghan innings. The pacer concedes just seven runs in the over and didn't allow any room to Naib or Naib despite bowling a no-ball in the over. Afghans still will be happy with the scoreboard given they were 75/6 at one stage.
Afghanistan 140/6 in 19 overs Another big over for Afghanistan! Haris Rauf concedes three fours off the last four deliveries in the over, Nabi strikes two off them!
Afghanistan 125/6 in 18 overs Gulbadin Naib takes charge of the innings by smashing a six and two boundaries in the over as Hassan Ali gave away 21 runs in the over.
Afghanistan 101/6 in 16 overs Nabi is keeping the scoreboard busy with 15 runs in the next two overs. The skipper managed to find crucial boundaries in the overs each.
Afghanistan 86/6 in 14 overs Nabi shots Haris Rauf for two boundaries in the over to garner 10 runs off the over. A lot depends on Nabi now if Afghanistan want to put up a total worth defending.
Afghanistan 76/6 in 13 overs Afghanistan top-order has been at fault for putting in an amateur performance while Imad Wasim has been the pick among Pak bowlers with two wickets so far. Other bowlers have been right on the money as well with Afghan wickets falling at regular intervals with a batting-order collapse. The onus is currently on skipper Mohammad Nabi to take Afghanistan to a fighting total after Zadran contributed a 21-ball 22.
Afghanistan 49/4 in 6 overs It seems Afghan batters are only going to play in the fifth gear as 10 runs came off Hasan Ali's over despite the wicket. Newly-in Karim Janat shot boundary through the fine leg region off the first ball he faced while Najibullah Zadran shot a four as well off the last ball.
Afghanistan 39/4 in 5.1 overs Rahmanullah Gurbaz gone as well! This time Hasan Ali joins the party. Afghanistan batters are in a self demolition mode as their shot-making has been questionable throughout the night. We might see another of those quick matches.
Afghanistan 33/3 in 3.3 overs Newly-introduced Haris Rauf takes away Afghans' momentum by removing Ashgar (10) in the fourth over of the match. Afghanistan are courting trouble halfway through the powerplay.
Afghanistan 30/2 in 3 overs An eventful event for Afghanistan as they clobbered 17 runs off it with two sixes and a boundary in the over bowled by Imad Wasim. Rahmanullah shot a six at the beginning of the over and was soon backed by Ashgar Afghan, who did the remaining pludering in the over after surviving a run out.
Afghanistan 13/2 in 1.3 overs Afridi joins the party! The left-handed pacer dismisses Shahzad (8 runs), who was at fault for his rash-shot decision-making.
Afghanistan 7/1 in 1.3 overs Imad Wasim provides Pakistan early breakthrough by dismissing Zazai for nought. The left-handed opener miscued a ball moving away from him towards the square leg region.
Afghanistan 5/0 in 1 over Both the openers started cautiously against Afridi while the bowling side absurdly lost a review as it was clear the ball was going down the leg side and far from the stumps.
Afghanistan 0/0 in 0 over Openers Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad are out in the middle to open the innings for the Afghans while in-form pacer Shaheen Afridi will start with the new ball.
7:24 PM Both teams are out for the national anthem as they meet for the first time in T20 World Cup. Afghanistan's anthem to be played first.
7:10 PM Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi opted to bat first after winning the toss against Babar Azam-led Pakistan in their Super 12 encounter of T20 World Cup in Dubai on Friday. Coming to the match on a winning note, both the sides have named an unchanged XI for the game
PLAYING XI
Pakistan Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Afghanistan Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Asghar Afghan, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
There is no denying that Afghanistan and Pakistan are playing a different brand of cricket in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. The antennas are all up as these two sides will face off each other on Friday at 7:30 PM (IST) in Dubai. With both the teams having played a good number of matches in the UAE, it would be interesting to see their tussle in match 24 of the cricket extravaganza.
Fans are all excited to witness as to who weighs heavy in the contest- Pakistan's swing wings or Afghanistan's spin attack.
READ full preview: Pakistan bowling form wary Afghanistan batters
