Asia Cup 2022 - Super Four - Match 4 - Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Who Said What

Afghanistan suffered a heart-breaking loss against Pakistan in their second Super 4 clash of the 2022 Asia Cup tournament on Wednesday. Naseem Shah smashed two back-to-back sixes in the last over to guide Pakistan to the finals of the tournament. A win for Pakistan also ended India and Afghanistan's hopes of reaching the finals.

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first with no change in their side that beat India in the last match. Afghanistan management replaced Naveen-ul-Haq with pacer Fareed Ahmad and Azmatullah Omarzai came back in place of Samiullah Shinwari. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai gave Afghanistan a flying start with a 36-run partnership for the first wicket.

Haris Rauf clean bowled in-form Gurbaz (17) in the fourth over to give Pakistan a breakthrough and Mohammad Hasnain dismissed Zazai (21) in the next over to get Pakistan ahead of the opponents. But Ibrahim Zadran and Karim Janat keep the scoreboard ticking to keep Afghanistan in the game. Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Janat on 15 runs to break the partnership and Shadab Khan removed Najibullah Zadran on 10 runs.

Ibrahim Zadran smashed the highest 35 off 37 before getting caught off Rauf. Afghanistan batters struggled for the big shots in the middle, but Rashid Khan smashed unbeaten 18 off 15 while Omarzai scored 10 runs off 10 balls to help Afghanistan put 129/6. For Pakistan, Rauf took 2/26 in his four overs.

Naseem Shah guides Pakistan to the 2022 Asia Cup final

Afghanistani pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed skipper Babar Azam on the second delivery of the innings to give his team a dream start while Fakhar Zaman was run out by Najibullah Zadran for just five and Pakistan were struggling on 18/2 in just 3.1 overs. The in-form batter Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed put a small but valuable 27-run partnership for the third wicket.

The star leg-spinner Rashid Khan dismissed a settled Rizwan lbw for 20 off 26. Vice-captain Shadab Khan joined Iftikhar Ahmed to regain control of the match to put another crucial 42-run partnership. Fareed dismissed Iftikhar for 30 and Rashid removed dangerous-looking Shadab who scored the highest 36 off 26 to get Afghanistan back in the game.

Farooqi, in his second spell, dismissed Nawaz and Khushdil Shah in the 18th over to put Afghanistan in the control of the match. Fareed took two more wickets in the 19th over and Pakistan needed 11 runs in the last over with just a wicket in their hand. But the youngster Naseem Shah smashed two back-to-back sixes on the first two deliveries to Farooqi to guide Pakistan to the final.

Losing Captain, Mohammad Nabi:

"The boys were brilliant with the ball and the field. But again we didn't finish well, we didn't control our nerves at the end. We didn't give up at any stage. We thought that chasing 130 is tough, like Bangladesh the other day. The fielders supported the bowlers a lot. We gave two options to the bowlers, slower balls and yorkers, and sadly we couldn't execute it when we needed to. Tomorrow we will play with the same energy. Thanks to the fans for the lovely support."

Winning Captain, Babar Azam:

"To be honest, it was quite a tensed environment in the dressing room. We couldn't build partnerships like last few games, but the way Naseem finished it, you could see the mahaul (vibe) after that. Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi are one of the best so you need to take chances with them but the main plan was to take it deep. The way we started bowling, we did well. The way we kept them down to 130, want to give credit to the bowlers. As I said before, the lack of partnerships made the game close. (Last over) I was in the dressing room. But at the back of the mind, I thought it is cricket, and I have seen Naseem bat like this, so I had a little bit of belief. This reminded me of Javed Miandad's six in Sharjah. The way our momentum is going, we want to continue and not repeat our mistakes. Next game will be a new game."

Player of the Match, Shadab Khan:

 "It has been a good tournament so far for me. Playing in UAE helps us - PSL and other series. We have that advantage. (Sharjah pitch compared to Dubai) Personally I didn't find much difference. It was a bit low. The way the target was and the way we batted, the pitch did not reflect that. I played a rash shot but should've finished it, since I was set. If I hadn't been out rashly, the game would've finished much earlier. You know spinners do well here in Sharjah, so as a bowling unit we wanted to keep it tight. (Nawaz-Shadab combo) To keep run-rate in check, you need to produce dot balls. That makes batters play rash shots and you can take wickets. If I don't give runs, then Nawaz will take the wickets. And vice-versa. (Flexible batting order) Nawaz and I try to bat according to the game's situation. Because they have more spinners, I told Babar I should bat higher. Even Babar felt so, since I play spinners well. Nawaz and I have been playing club cricket for years, I knew him first as a batter itself. (Naseem's sixes) Those sixes will always be remembered. Our management has promoted our bowlers to bat a bit, because you don't know what situation will come in a game. Our bowlers also have calibers to finish games with the bat"