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SHARJAH: Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten half-century, followed by Haris Rauf’s three-wicket haul, powered Pakistan to a 39-run win over Afghanistan in the opening match of the tri-series here at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Chasing a 183-run target, Afghanistan crumbled under pressure and were bundled out for 143 runs in 19.5 overs.
Pakistan struck early as Shaheen Afridi sent Ibrahim Zadran (9) back with a beautiful delivery.
After 17-1 in three overs, Sediqullah Atal and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on a 51-run partnership in a bid to steady Afghanistan in the chase.
The duo batted with an aggressive approach and took Afghanistan’s total to 68 at the end of the eighth over. However, Pakistan made a strong comeback with Gurbaz’s removal, who was looking dangerous.
He made 38 from 27 balls with the help of a six and three fours.
Despite his wicket, Afghanistan kept up with the required run-rate as the scorecard read 85-2 at the halfway stage of the innings.
Nonetheless, Haris Rauf’s double-wicket maiden 11th over brought Pakistan back into the game. The speedster removed both Atal and Karim Janat with a slower delivery ploy.
The wickets sparked a collapse that Afghanistan could never recover from. As a result, the whole team was bowled out despite Rashid Khan’s blitz, who smashed Rauf for 19 runs in the 18th over to provide his team some hope.
Rashid Khan’s 39 off 16 deliveries featured five elegant sixes.
For Pakistan, it was an all-round bowling effort with Haris Rauf taking a four-wicket haul in his 3.5 overs. Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, and Sufiyan Muqeem took two wickets each.
Earlier, Salman Ali Agha’s sublime knock powered Pakistan to a strong total
After opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 182 for the loss of seven wickets in their allocated 20 overs.
Green Shirts openers started strong, particularly Sahibzada Farhan, taking on the Afghanistan bowlers in the opening overs.
However, he was caught after scoring 21 off 10 deliveries with the aid of two sixes and a four. As a result, Pakistan were 26-1 in 2.3 overs.
After his wicket, Afghanistan put roadblocks in Pakistan’s progress as Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman struggled to keep up the momentum.
The pair established an important 29-run partnership for the second wicket, which concluded with one player’s dismissal by Rashid Khan in the seventh over.
Ayub played a measured innings, scoring 14 runs off 16 balls, featuring two boundaries.
Pakistan then encountered a swift collapse, losing two additional wickets—Fakhar Zaman (20) and Hasan Nawaz (9)—and found themselves struggling at 83 for 4 in 11.1 overs.
Following this downturn, Agha and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz mounted a counteroffensive against the Afghanistan bowlers, putting together 53 runs for the fifth wicket in just 28 balls.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman eventually disrupted this partnership in the 16th over by getting rid of Nawaz, who had made a rapid 21 runs off 11 balls, including one four and two sixes.
Agha then partnered with wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Haris, contributing 31 runs to the score before falling to Fareed Ahmad on the second delivery of the final over.
Salman Ali Agha ended as Pakistan’s top scorer, remaining not out on 53 runs from 36 deliveries, which included three fours and three sixes.
For Afghanistan, Fareed Ahmed picked up two wickets, whereas Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took one wicket each.
