Daily Times

Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by three wickets in their World Cup warm-up match at Bristol County Ground on Friday. Pakistan had set a 263-run target after they were bowled out in the 48th over in the match. Afghanistan emerged victorious as they chased the moderate target. Hashmatullah Shahidi (72) was Afghanistan’s top scorer who remained on the crease till the end.

Earlier, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had won the toss and elected to bat first. One-down Babar Azam top-scored with a 108-ball 112 runs, reaching his century in a rather sluggishly manner as he was forced to glue the innings together while the rest of the Pakistan batting faltered before the Afghanistan bowling. Shoaib Malik scored 44 runs off 59 deliveries, while opener Imam-ul-Haq added a 35-ball 32 to the total. Ace Afghanistan spinner Mohammad Nabi picked up three wickets for 46 in his 10 overs, while Dawlat Zadran and Rashid Khan picked up two wickets each for 37 and 27 runs respectively.

Pakistan came into the match after a series rout at the hands of England, which saw England claiming a 4-0 series win. Meanwhile, Afghanistan come into the game after victories against Scotland and Ireland. For Pakistan, this was a chance to get back to their winning ways after losing their last nine games, while Afghanistan was hoping to upset the men in green and get some confidence going into the mega event. Asif Ali was not taking part in yesterday’s match after his two-year-old daughter passed away on Monday.