Pakistan and Afghanistan battled in a last-over thriller on Thursday (August 24) in Hambantota, which unfortunately for Afghanistan, ended in yet another heart-breaking defeat to Pakistan by one wicket on the penultimate ball of the high-scoring clash. Pakistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
Afghanistan, who were bundled out for 59 in the 1st ODI, won the toss and opted to bat first as wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran batted beautifully to add 210 runs for the first wicket. Gurbaz scored his fifth ODI hundred and his career-best of 151, while Zadran made 80.
Afghanistan were well poised at 256/1 in the 45th over to get a score close to 310-315 but Pakistan fought well in the final few overs to restrict the final total to 300/5. Shaheen Afridi was the most successful bowler with 2/58 from his ten overs.
Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman in the chase for 30, but Imam-ul-Haq (91) and Babar Azam (53) batted smoothly to take the side to 170/1 in the 31st over. However a collapse saw the side losing five wickets for 41 runs, to slump to 211/6.
Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed stabilized the innings with a 47-run partnership before the latter was dismissed and Shaheen also fell cheaply for 4. With 29 runs needed in 14 balls, Naseem Shah came out to join the well-set Shadab.
Shadab played some brilliant shots off rookie Abdul Rahman and brought the equation down to 11 runs off the last over, to be bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi.
In a dramatic twist, Farooqi displayed smartness to run out Shadab Khan for 48 at the non-striker's end, as he left his crease too soon to get back on strike and the third umpire Nitin Menon adjudged him out.
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However, Farooqi couldn't prevent Pakistan from winning the match and series, as Naseem Shah hit couple of boundaries in the next five deliveries to seal the win with a ball to spare. It brought back some haunting memories for the Afghan bowler who was hit for a match-winning six by the same batter in last year's Asia Cup.
The final match will be played on Saturday (August 26).
