Pakistan survived Afghanistan scare to keep their World Cup dream alive as they came out victorious from a dramatic game at Headingley here on Saturday. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmen and his charges defeated spirited Afghan side by three wickets with just two balls to spare. Imad Wasim hit the winning boundary to get man of the match award for his superb innings. Chasing a moderate target of 228, Pakistan’s chances to win had dimmed considerably after they lost seven wickets while the required run rate soared higher. At one point, the win predictor indicated a mere 29 percent chance of Pakistan winning the game. The Pakistan batsmen struggled against Afghanistan spinners from the word go. They lost their opener Fakhar Zaman (0) and their review on the second ball of the innings. Zaman, who was given lbw on Rahman’s delivery, thought the ball had hit the bat first and decided to go for a review. Babar Azam – who scored his maiden World Cup century in Pakistan’s match against New Zealand earlier this week – and Imamul Haq then formed a 72-run partnership which came to an end after the latter was stumped on the last ball of the 16th over attempting to hit Nabi. Babar was bowled out in the 18th over by Mohammad Nabi after scoring 45 off 51 balls. It was after the dismissals of Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail and skipper Sarfaraz that Pakistan’s prospects of winning the match started looking shaky. Afghanistan’s chances of victory at this point, as per the win predictor, had risen to 79 percent.
All-rounder Shadab Khan, along with Wasim struggled to hold their ground and formed a 50-run partnership that led Pakistan to victory.
Afridi shines as Pakistan restrict Afghanistan to 227-9
Earlier, Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi claimed four wickets to restrict minnows Afghanistan to a modest 227 for nine from 50 overs. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Afghanistan stumbled early on as they lost captain Gulbadin Naib and Hashmatullah Shahidi in back-to-back deliveries to Afridi, who produced a blistering opening spell with the new ball. Former skipper Asghar Afghan and Ikram Alikhil built a 64-run stand before Afghan was cleaned up by leg-spinner Shadab Khan for 42. Wicketkeeper-batsman Alikhil (24) holed out to left-arm spinner Imad Wasim but Najibullah Zadran’s scored a patient 54-ball 42 to take the Afghans past the 200-mark. Afridi, playing only his 18th ODI at the age of 19, returned to remove Zadran and Rashid Khan to finish as pick of the Pakistan bowlers with 4-47.