Pakistan on Wednesday (September 7) secured their place in the final of the Asia Cup 2022 with a thrilling one-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the Super-4 clash at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Chasing 130 to win, the Men in Green were reduced to 119/9 and needed 11 off last 6 balls with Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain at the crease.
For Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, who took three wickets earlier in the match, was given the responsibility to defend runs in the final. However, Farooqi faltered under pressure as he bowled a couple of juicy full tosses and Naseem smashed them for huge sixes to take Pakistan over the finishing line with four deliveries to spare.
After the game, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam compared Naseem’s sixes to that of Javed Miandad’s maximum against Chetan Sharma during an India-Pakistan encounter at the same venue in 1986.
“Nadeem’s two sixes reminded us of Javed (Miandad) bhai,” Babar said during the post-match presentation ceremony while speaking to Ravi Shastri.
In reply, Shastri quipped, “I was there, thanks for reminding.”
The Pakistan captain also admitted that the dressing room was very tense during the closing stages of the match.
“To be honest, the dressing room was very tensed. The team was walking in and out of the dressing room. Excellent with the way Naseem Shah finished it off. Sharjah is always low-scoring, and Mujeeb and Rashid Khan are two of the best bowlers. We just wanted to take the match deep. The way we started with the ball was excellent. In our batting, we didn't execute our plans very well, but Naseem was outstanding. At the back of the mind, I have seen Naseem play like this earlier, and I had the belief in him,” he stated.
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan side will now face Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 11).
