The Asia Cup 2022 Super-4 clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan hogged the headlines for quite a few reasons and one among them was the ugly altercation between Asif Ali and Fareed Ahmad.
Asif and Fareed almost exchanged blows after the Afghanistan pacer dismissed the Pakistan batter in the penultimate over of the second innings.
As soon as he took the wicket, Fareed was over the moon and he celebrated in an animated manner right in front of Asif, who in return pushed the bowler back. Upon being confronted by the bowler, Asif nearly came to hit Fareed with his willow.
The situation could have gone out of control before the other Afghanistan fielders came in between them to calm things down.
Meanwhile, former chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Shafiq Stanikzai, has slammed Asif Ali for his unruly behavior and opined that the Pakistan batter should be banned from the rest of the tournament.
“This is stupidity at the extreme level by Asif Ali and should be banned from the rest of the tournament, any bowler has the right to celebrate but being physical is not acceptable at all,” Stanikzai tweeted.
Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib also echoed Stanikzai’s sentiment, saying that getting physical is not acceptable at all.
“This is stupidity at extreme level by Asif Ali and should be ban from the rest of the tournament, any bowler has the right to celebrate but being physical is not acceptable at all,” Naib wrote on Twitter.
Coming to the match, Pakistan registered a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the Super-4 encounter of the ongoing Asia Cup.
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.
With this victory, Pakistan also secured their place in the Asia Cup 2022 final, where they will take on Sri Lanka at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 11).
