T20 World Cup 2021 Points Table and Team Standings after Afghanistan vs Pakistan Match

Asif Ali once again turned out to be the saviour for the Pakistan side, as the ‘Men in Green’ posted their third consecutive victory of the Super 12 stages of the tournament. The right-hander played a superb cameo, scoring 25* off 7 deliveries, as Pakistan beat the Afghanistan side with 5 wickets to spare.

Ali smashed Karim Janat for 4 consecutive sixes in the 19th over to allow the Babar Azam-led side to go past the finish line. Chasing a target of 148, Pakistan lost their opener Mohammad Rizwan with just 12 runs on the board. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman then steadied the ship and forged a partnership of 63 runs for the second wicket.

Zaman was removed by Mohammad Nabi for 30, with the scoreboard reading 75, and the match was in the balance. Mohammad Hafeez then departed for a breezy 10, with Rashid Khan scalping his wicket.

Rashid Khan then picked up the crucial wicket of Babar Azam. The Pakistan skipper walked back to the pavilion after scoring a 47-ball 51. Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan. In his 4 overs, the star spin bowler scalped 2 wickets and gave away only 26 runs.

Afghanistan experienced a torrid start to their innings and were reduced to 39/4. Things turned worse, as the Afghanistan side lost their 6th wicket with only 76 runs on the board.

But then, skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib put on an unbeaten partnership of 71 runs for the 7th wicket to help Afghanistan to a total of 147/6. Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, and scalped 2 wickets in his quota of 4 overs and leaked 25 runs. With this win, Pakistan maintains its position at the top of the points table, while Afghanistan is occupying the second spot.

West Indies down Bangladesh in a thriller

Earlier in the day, the West Indies side prevailed over Bangladesh in a low-scoring thriller. West Indies batted first and scored 142/7 in 20 overs. While Roston Chase helped himself to a composed 39 off 46 deliveries, Nicholas Pooran went berserk, scoring 40 at a strike rate in excess of 180.

For the Bangladesh side, Shoriful Islam was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 2 wickets in his 4 overs, and gave away 20 runs. Apart from Islam, the likes of Mahedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman also scalped a couple of wickets each as well.

In reply, it was a case of ‘so near yet so far’ for Bangladesh. In their 20 overs, the Mahmudullah led side could only manage to post a total of 139/5 and went down to the West Indies by 3 runs. Liton Das top-scored with a sedate 44 for the Bangladeshi Tigers.

Here is the updated points table