Pakistan and Afghanistan's Asia Cup 2022 super 4s clash witnessed ugly scenes at the Sharjah cricket stadium on Wednesday (September 7). After Pakistan’s one-wicket win, vice-captain Shadab Khan reacted to the heated moment between Fareed Ahmad and Asif Ali in Sharjah.
It all happened during the 19th over of Pakistan’s chase, when Afghanistan bowler Fareed Ahmad made a threatening gesture towards Asif Ali, and it didn’t go down well with the Pakistani cricketer, who went on to raise his bat on the latter.
Later, both Afghan and Pakistani players had to intervene to calm the duo during the tense Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2022.
Well, Pakistan won the last over thriller by one wicket thanks to Naseem Shah’s two sixes to book a place in the final, where they will face Sri Lanka at Dubai International Stadium on September 11.
Shadab Khan at the post-match press conference: “These things happen in the heat of the moment because both of the teams are playing to win. These should be forgotten then and there only.”
The Pakistani all-rounder wasn’t happy with the way he lost his wicket after scoring 36 runs off 26 balls against Afghanistan, saying he should have finished the match for his team on Wednesday.
He added, “We should have finished the match much before. We were confident. Good teams should not undergo such collapses. I played a rash shot; I should have finished (the game). I made a mistake. But if I get another chance, I will finish the game. We hope that such things do not happen again.”
Shadab also said that they were confident that Naseem could finish the match, and the young pacer will remember those two sixes for the rest of his career.
He signed off by saying, “We were confident that our bowlers could bat...management had given them a role because you may need your bowlers to deliver with the bat sometimes. Naseem will remember these two sixes for the rest of his career. I can play such matches, but cannot watch them.”
(ANI inputs)
