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Pakistan
148 for 5 (Babar 51, Fakhar 30, Rashid 2-26) beat Afghanistan 147 for 6 (Naib 35*, Nabi 35*, Imad 2-25) by five wickets
Dubai: Asif Ali's cameo of 25* from just 7 balls took Pakistan to victory with an over to spare against Afghanistan in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
Needing 24 off the last two overs, Ali used only one of those overs as he smacked Karim Janat for four sixes to get Pakistan across the line.
The victory makes it three wins out of three for Pakistan. They sit comfortably on top of the Group 2 table in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
After the early wicket of Mohammad Rizwan, it was Bazar Azam and Fakhar Zaman that set the foundation for Pakistan's win with a steady 63-run partnership.
Afghanistan fought well in a game that ebbed and flowed. Although they had lost half their side inside the first 10 overs and were were in a spot of bother at 76/6, Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib's unbeaten 71-run stand helped them put up a fighting total.
Afghanistan captain Nabi won the toss and opted to bat first against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, with both teams unchanged. Teams chasing in Dubai have won four games out of four so far in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup but Afghanistan decided to play to their strengths instead.
That call came in for question as they lost four wickets inside the Powerplay.
Shaheen Afridi troubled the openers in the first over of the innings but didn't get a wicket despite striking the pads thrice.
To release the pressure, Hazratullah Zazai charged Imad Wasim at the other end but only managed to top edge to Haris Rauf at third, who took a good tumbling catch.
After striking Afghanistan's first boundary, Mohammad Shahzad fell trying to take Afridi on again.
Asghar Afghan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided some respite, taking 17 runs off Imad's second over, including two sixes and a four. However, both batters fell within five balls, with Rauf and Hasan Ali getting on the wickets column.
Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat steadied the ship with a 25-run partnership that went at just over a run a ball. Despite a couple of quiet overs, they made up their run rate by striking two fours off Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan.
Just when it looked like Afghanistan had a launching pad in the middle overs, Janat holed out in the deep as they lost half their side inside the first ten overs.
At the halfway stage, Afghanistan were 65/5.
