Pakistan competed a hat-trick of wins in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 after defeating Afghanistan by five wickets in their clash on Friday, October 29 in Dubai.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and chose to bat first despite the ground favoring sides chasing in the tournament so far.
At 76/6 in the 13th over, the side was in deep trouble but Nabi and Gulbadin Naib scored 35* each as Afghanistan posted a respectable total of 147/6 on the board. Imad Wasim with 2/25 was the most successful Pakistani bowler.
Pakistan's chase was once again anchored by captain Babar Azam, who scored 54, even as his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan suffered a rare failure. Rashid Khan (2/26) brought Afghanistan into the game getting the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez and then Babar.
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Shoaib Malik departed in the 18th over after a 15-ball 19 as Naveen-ul-Haq conceded just two runs in the crucial over. With 24 runs needed off the final two orders, Asif Ali was joined by Shadab Khan.
Karim Janat ended up conceding all the required runs in the penultimate over as Asif Ali smacked four sixes off his bowling to seal the victory for Pakistan in the most dramatic fashion.
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Pakistan have two games remaining against associate nations Scotland and Namibia, and are favourites to not just qualify for the semi-finals but do it by remaining unbeaten barring a miracle of sorts looking at their current form.
