Tag: Pakistan vs Afghanistan

Afghanistan have announced an 18-member squad for the ODI series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka, later this month.

The announcement saw 18-year-old spin sensation Noor Ahmed, make his way back into Afghanistan’s ODI team, after being excluded from the series against Bangladesh last month.

He has represented Afghanistan in three ODI matches thus far, after making his debut last year.

He had a forgettable run in the ODI series against Sri Lanka in June, where he picked up only two wickets in two ODIs at a mammoth average of 62.

However, Afghanistan have dropped left-arm spinner Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, who debuted in the ODI series against Bangladesh and uncapped leg-spinner Izharulhaq Naveed, from their contingent against Pakistan.

Most of the players, including pace duo Mohammad Saleem Safi and Wafadar Momand from Afghanistan’s first-ever bilateral ODI series victory have retained their spots, except for the aforementioned spinners and pace bowler Nijaat Masood.

Moreover, Left-arm pace bowler Farid Ahmad Malik, and middle-order batter Shahidullah Kamal have also been included as travelling reserves.

Afghanistan’s chief selector Asadullah Khan stated, “Our whole concentration is to prepare the team for the upcoming two big events of Asia Cup and the World Cup 2023. This three-match ODI series against Pakistan provides us with a wonderful opportunity to prepare the team for the forthcoming two events.”

He further added, “The preparations for the Pakistan series are progressing well; the players have recently performed well in the Kabul Camp, which has been supervised by ACB’s high-performance centre staff. The team will also undergo a week-long conditioning camp prior to the Pakistan series.”

The upcoming series is the first bilateral ODI series between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Prior to that, they played only four ODIs and Pakistan remained unbeaten in all.

The three-match ODI series is scheduled to be played on August 22, 24 and 26, as the first two games will take place at Hambantota, while the third game will be played at Colombo.

Afghanistan squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Wafadar Momand

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Pakistan men’s cricket team will tour Sri Lanka to play Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series in August, prior to the Asia Cup 2023, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Monday.

The two teams will play the first two matches in Hambantota on 22 and 24 before they travel to Colombo for the final ODI on 26.

These three matches will provide Babar Azam’s side with an opportunity to fine-tune their combinations ahead of the 50-over ACC Men’s Asia Cup, which begins on 30 August with Pakistan playing Nepal at the picturesque Multan Cricket Stadium.

The national men’s side will assemble in Sri Lanka on 17 August and will train on 19, 20 and 21 August.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have played four ODIs and Pakistan have won all of them. The two sides last played each other in the format in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

This year’s Asia Cup will kick off with host Pakistan taking on Nepal in the curtain raiser on August 30 in Multan.

Pakistan will host a total of four matches including a Super 4s fixture.

India’s group stage matches including the anticipated clash against Pakistan, scheduled on September 2, will be held in Kandy while the rest of the Super 4s matches, including the final will be played in Colombo.

The arch-rivals Pakistan and India will come face to face again on September 10 in Colombo if both manage to qualify for the Super 4s.

Like the previous edition, the Asia Cup schedule holds a possibility of treating the cricket fans with a maximum of three Pakistan-India matches in a single tournament if both arch-rivals, in a first, simultaneously qualify for the final.

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s. The continental event will run from August 31 to September 17.

Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.

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SHARJAH: Young opening batter Mohammad Haris has taken the responsibility for Pakistan’s dismal performance in the recently-concluded T20I series against Afghanistan.

Haris, who scored just 22 runs in three innings, apologized to the cricket fans of the country for his consistent failures with the bat during the series.

“Dear my nation. Not the result we wanted. I am responsible as I did not provide a good start for my team.” he maintained in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

“Really sorry but we will learn from this experience and come back stronger In ShAA Allah,” he added.

https://twitter.com/iamharis63/status/1640493711518834694

It may be noted here that Afghanistan beat Pakistan 2-1 in the maiden bilateral series between the two sides. Although the Green Shirts bounced back in the final T20I to achieve a consolation win, the inexperienced batting lineup underwent batting collapses which led to forgettable results in the first two matches.

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SHARJAH: Skipper Shadab Khan claimed that the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan proved helpful for Pakistan in strengthening their bench strength for future fixtures. 

Shadab, who captained the Green Shirts during their 2-1 series defeat against Afghanistan in Sharjah, stated the team achieved their desired objective from the series despite the forgettable results.

“The motive of this series was to prepare our bench strength and we have achieved this motive,” he said in a post-match press conference after Pakistan sealed a consolation win in the third T20I on Monday.

“Unfortunately the young players could not perform as we expected from them but definitely this new talent will prove beneficial for Pakistan in the future.”

Flanked by young opener Saim Ayub, who scored 49 from 40 to help Pakistan set a massive 183-run target, the Pakistan captain hailed the youngsters for their outstanding fightback under pressure and for outclassing the opponents in the competition.

“We’re happy that we prevailed in this match and answered the criticism happening against us in the media”

Saim, however, disclosed that the captain and team management had given constant support to the youngsters throughout the series.

“Obviously one undergoes a tremendous amount of pressure when he plays for his country for the first time,” said the 20-year-old.

“But I am happy that finally, I was able to score some runs after failures in the first two matches” he added.

The skipper, however, went on to suggest that the top performers of the series should be given a chance in the future as well.

“We must continue to support these new players as they all are very highly talented,” he requested to the nation.

It may be noted here that left-handed opener Saim Ayub’s sensible knock and a combined dominant effort by the bowlers led Pakistan to a 66-run victory in the third T20I and finished the series 2-1 against Afghanistan.

The national team suffered consecutive defeats after the inexperienced batting lineup slumped to batting collapses in the first two T20Is.

READ: Shadab Khan achieves unique landmark for Pakistan in T20Is

SHARJAH: All-rounder Shadab Khan on Monday became the first Pakistan bowler to complete 100 wickets in T20 Internationals in the ongoing third T20I against Afghanistan.

Shadab dismissed Usman Ghani in the last T20I of the ongoing three-match series against Afghanistan to complete his 100 wickets in the shorter format.

Following this feat, Shadab also became the first Pakistani bowler to breach the 100-wicket mark in T20Is, followed by star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who had 98 scalps to his name.

Shadab took 87 innings to reach the milestone while Afridi played 98 T20Is.

🚨 MILESTONE ALERT 🚨@76Shadabkhan becomes the first Pakistan men's cricketer to take 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ wickets in T20Is 👏#AFGvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/FO4c5ImTIb

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 27, 2023

Notably, the leg-spinner has thus far taken three wickets in as many overs and forced Afghanistan to slip to 73/7 while this story was filed.

Earlier, Pakistan batters, led by young Saim Ayub, put on a collective effort to pile a commendable total of 182/7 in the third T20I against Afghanistan.

Saim top-scored for Pakistan with a sensible 49-run knock, followed by Iftikhar Ahmed’s 31 and Shadab’s 17-ball 28.

Afghanistan, however, have already wrapped up the series following a nerve-testing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second T20I.

READ: Abdullah Shafique breaks unwanted streak of ducks in T20Is 

SHARJAH: Young left-handed opener Saim Ayub’s sensible 49-run knock and a combined dominant effort by the bowlers led Pakistan to a consolation victory in the third T20I against Afghanistan.

Set to chase a massive 183, Afghanistan’s batting lineup failed completely before being bundled out for a meagre 116 in the 19th over, thus handing a consolation 66-run victory to Pakistan in the third T20I of the series, already wrapped up by Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s new opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal gave a decent start to their side in the run chase as the pair added 35 runs Ihsanullah castled the former in the fifth over.

Gurbaz could score 18 off 11 deliveries with the help of one boundary and a six.

The hosts then lost two more wickets in quick successions as Atal (11) and Ibrahim Zadran (3) fell in successive overs and resulting in Afghanistan slipping to 39/3 in the seventh over.

Following the slump, Usman Ghani and Mohammad Nabi attempted to anchor the run chase as the pair stitched a gritty 32-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The duo appeared to have settled down but conceded too many deliveries in the process and thus needed to slog hard to keep up with the mounting required run rate.

The dire need for scoring quickly dented Afghanistan’s pursuit majorly as their in-form all-rounder Nabi perished due to a suicidal running between the wickets. He could score 17 off 10.

Najibullah Zadran then came out to bat at No.5 for Afghanistan after Nabi’s dismissal but his stay at the crease remained brief as a nasty bouncer from Ihsanullah rocked his jaw which caused him to get retired hurt.

Afghanistan then ran into a match-defining collapse as the hosts soon slipped to 95/9 with Shadab Khan and Ihsanullah leading Pakistan’s charge with the ball.

Azmatullah Omarzai, who came out to bat as Najibullah’s concussion replacement added 21 vital runs with the bat before Zaman Khan removed him in the 19th over to seal a dominant victory for Pakistan in the third T20I.

Skipper Shadab and Ihsanullah led the bowling attack for Pakistan with three wickets each, while Mohammad Wasim Jr, Zaman and Imad Wasim struck out a batter each.

Put into bat first, Pakistan batters put on an all-round performance to pile a commendable total on the scoreboard with young Saim leading the way with a gritty 49-run knock.

Earlier, the green shirts were once again off to a dismal start to their innings as wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Haris (1) perished cheaply in the second over with just one run on the board.

Promoted to bat at number three, Tayyab Tahir, joined Saim in the middle and launched a brief counterattack on the Afghan bowlers.

The right-handed batter was looking to dominate the bowlers, having smashed two boundaries early on, but failed to stretch his knock as he fell after scoring 10 off nine in the fourth over.

Abdullah Shafique, who was going through a rough patch in T20Is, came out roaring in the third T20I as he scored a brisk 13-ball 23 before Rashid Khan castled him in the eighth over. He smashed a boundary and two sixes amid his brief knock.

Following Shafique’s dismissal, Iftikhar Ahmed joined Saim in the middle and stitched a vital partnership for the fourth wicket.

The pair added 45 runs amid their important partnership and took Pakistan past the 100-run mark in the 12th over with Saim closing in on his maiden half-century.

The young left-handed batter, however, came just one run short of his maiden fifty as Mujeeb Ur Rahman took a blinder off Karim Janat’s bowling to cease Saim’s brilliant knock. Saim top-scored for Pakistan with 49 off 40 deliveries, laced up with four boundaries and two sixes.

Pakistan then endured another major setback in the next over as in-form all-rounder Imad Wasim failed to score big and fell victim to Mujeeb after scoring a quick seven-ball 13.

With half of the side back in the pavilion, skipper Shadab Khan joined Iftikhar in the middle and scripted a crucial sixth-wicket partnership; adding 38 runs in just 21 deliveries before the latter perished in the 19th over.

Iftikhar remained the notable run-getter for Pakistan with 31 off 25 balls and hit two sixes.

Meanwhile, Shadab, who was hanging in there for Pakistan had a bizarre end to his gritty knock as he hit wickets with his bat after a slow ball by Fareed Ahmed deceived him completely. He scored 28 off 17 balls and smashed five boundaries.

Some vital contributions by Mohammad Wasim Jr (9) and Mohammad Nawaz (5) in the last over bolstered Pakistan to finish at 182/7.

Mujeeb led the bowling attack for Afghanistan with 2/28 while Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi, Fareed and Karim struck out a batter each.

SHARJAH: Pakistan’s young right-handed batter Abdullah Shafique had a sigh of relief as he broke the unwanted streak of ducks in T20Is.

Abdullah, who became the first player to bag four consecutive ducks in T20Is on Sunday, finally scored his first runs after four successive failures.

The right-handed batter pushed a tossed-up delivery by Mohammad Nabi to wide long-on to score a much-needed run and avoided another duck.

Notably, the right-handed batter had bagged the worst record in his brief five-match T20I career as he went out for a duck in four successive matches.

Abdullah, who scored 41 not out on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe, was yet to score a run since then as he bagged two ducks each against New Zealand and Afghanistan.

The young batting prodigy, however, came out roaring in the third and final T20I of the ongoing series as he scored a brisk 13-ball 23 before Rashid Khan castled him in the eighth over. He smashed a boundary and two sixes amid his brief knock.

It is pertinent to mention that Afghanistan held their nerves calm to edge Pakistan in the second T20I by seven wickets and wrapped up the series victory with a game to spare.

The ongoing T20I series between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the first-ever bilateral series between the two cricketing nations as they only faced each other in ICC events and Asia Cups before.

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SHARJAH: Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to field first in the third T20I of the ongoing three-match series against Pakistan on Monday.

PLAYING XIs

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan make two changes each to their lineups in the final T20I of the series.

Pakistan: Mohammad Haris (wk), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Imad Wasim, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Wasim, Zaman Khan.

Afghanistan: Usman Ghani, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Ahmad Malik.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 5, Pakistan 3, Afghanistan 2

SHARJAH: Shadab Khan believed that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan would get a greater amount of respect from the nation and the media after the ongoing series against Afghanistan, which saw the new-look team suffering a dismal 2-0 defeat.

Pakistan T20I captain for the three T20Is against Afghanistan, Shadab, requested the people of the country to support the youngsters, saying, “we must accept one’s failures so that he can turn into a world-class player.”

“We are aware of the talent in each of these players. Nervousness is always there, every time you wear a Pakistan star. This was seen today as well,” he said in a post-match press conference on Sunday after Pakistan lost the second T20I and the first bilateral series against Afghanistan.

Shadab said conditions were totally different in Sharjah, adding, “Any team facing Afghanistan in these conditions, would have met the same fate.”

He added the motive behind sending the young team for the assignment was to prepare the bench strength.

“I am hopeful that the players will make a comeback in the next match but even if they don’t, I will keep supporting these youngsters” he expressed.

When asked whether it was the right choice to send a young team for the series without experience and key players, he replied we all used to hurl criticism at our own players, hinting at media representatives in the room.

“When Babar and Rizwan were not performing or even when they performed a sword hung over their heads in the shape of strike rates,” he said

“As a nation, we were demanding to bring these youngsters in international cricket because they had performed in the PSL and wanted them to play at a high strike rate”

“I’m all up for experiments but we all might realize how much the experience matters”

“I think they (Babar and Rizwan) were not getting the respect they deserved but after this series, they will get much more respect, from the media as well as from the nation” he believed.

It may be noted here that Afghanistan sealed a seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the second T20I to claim the series 2-0.

Set to chase 131, Afghanistan accumulated 133/3 with a ball to spare, thanks to Gurbaz’s 44. The final T20I will be played today.

READ: Gurbaz stars as Afghanistan edge Pakistan to wrap up series win 

SHARJAH: Opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s sensible 44-run knock helped Afghanistan to edge Pakistan in the second T20I to complete the series victory with one match to spare.

Set to chase 131, Afghanistan accumulated 133/3 with a ball to spare, thanks to Gurbaz’s 44.

Earlier, Afghanistan openers Gurbaz and Usman Ghani (seven off nine) scripted a flying start to the run chase and raised 30 runs inside the first four overs before Zaman Khan castled the latter.

Following the early setback, Gurbaz stitched a match-defining partnership with Ibrahim Zadran and anchored the run chase.

The pair added 56 runs amid their vital second-wicket stand before a direct hit from Naseem Shah brought an end to Gurbaz’s innings, who top-scored for Afghanistan with 44 off 49 deliveries, laced up with two boundaries and a six.

Ibrahim then put on a brief partnership with Najibullah Zadran and took Afghanistan past the 100-run mark before Ihsanullah dismissed the former. He scored a 40-ball 38 and smashed three boundaries.

Afghanistan’s last match hero Mohammad Nabi then joined Ibrahim in the middle and once again played a crucial knock for his side in a tense run chase.

Pakistan bowlers, despite not taking enough wickets, held Afghanistan to 109/3 in 18 overs. However, a sloppy 19th over by Naseem, put Afghanistan in command as the right-arm pacer leaked 17 runs, leaving just five runs behind.

Pakistan skipper Shadab Khan then brought Zaman Khan to defend a mere five runs in the final over but Ibrahim and Nabi held their nerves calm to power their side over the line with a ball to spare.

Ibrahim scored a 12-ball 23 not out, hitting two boundaries and a six, while Nabi remained unbeaten with 14 off just nine deliveries, smashing a six.

For Pakistan, only Ihsanullah and Zaman could pick up a wicket while the rest went wicketless.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan were off to a poor start to their innings as the green shirts lost two wickets in the first over as opener Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique bagged ducks.

With a frustrating first over, young hard-hitting batter Mohammad Haris looked to counter-attack in the second over as he took Azmatullah Omarzai to the cleaners.

Haris appeared to have found the rhythm but Naveen-ul-Haq got him caught behind in the fourth over to draw the third success for Afghanistan. He could score 15 off nine deliveries with the help of two boundaries and a six.

With Pakistan reeling at 20/3 in the fourth over, experienced all-rounder Imad joined young Tayyab Tahir in the middle and stitched a fighting 40-run partnership.

Imad led the fightback amid his fourth-wicket stand with Tahir before the latter fell victim to Karim Jannat after a cautious 23-ball 13.

Pakistan then jolted with another setback in the next over as Rashid Khan trapped Azam Khan (1) in his legs and forced Pakistan to slip to 63/5 in 11 overs.

With his side in all sorts of trouble, skipper Shadab Khan came out to bat and stitched a match-saving partnership with Imad.

The pair soaked the pressure put on by Afghanistan bowlers and kept the scoreboard ticking before Shadab perished on the final delivery of the innings.

Imad top-scored for Pakistan with a gritty half-century, scoring 64 off 57 deliveries, hitting three boundaries and two sixes, while Shadab scored a 25-ball 32, laced up with three boundaries.

Fazalhaq Farooqi led the bowling attack for Afghanistan with 2/19 while Rashid, Naveen and Karim picked up a wicket each.