T20 World Cup: Pakistan stay perfect as Asif heroics deny Afghanistan

By Sports Desk October 29, 2021

Asif Ali produced an inspired cameo as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by five wickets to maintain their 100 per cent record at the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan left it late in the Group 2 clash in Dubai as they chased their opponents' total of 147-6.

Skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib led the way with 35 each for Afghanistan, who aimed to build on their thumping 130-run win over Scotland on Monday.

The in-form Mohammad Shahzad went for just eight and missed the opportunity to become the first Afghan to reach 2,000 men's T20I runs.

Mohammad Rizwan's eight runs were enough to take him beyond 1,000 in T20 internationals since the start of 2020, however, he fell to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who claimed another wicket after taking five against the Scots.

Captain Babar Azam top-scored with 51 but paid the price for a questionable shot choice as he was bowled by Rashid Khan and Pakistan headed into the penultimate over requiring 24.

Step forward Asif, who produced four thumping sixes from six balls to make it three wins out of three for Pakistan.


Asif delivers again

Afghanistan appeared to be gaining the upper hand when Babar and Shoaib Malik were dismissed within five balls of each other at the end of the 18th over.

But the whole complexion of the contest turned on its head with Asif on strike.

The all-rounder hit 25 from just seven balls and farmed the strike to magnificent effect, producing another devastating display of power after his 12-ball 27 against New Zealand.


Bittersweet for Rashid

After dismissing Babar and Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid took his T20I wicket tally to 101.

He became the fourth player to reach 100 T20I wickets after Lasith Malinga, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee.

Nevertheless, his efforts were not quite enough to give his nation a second successive win.

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    Babar Azam lauded a much-needed T20 World Cup victory for Pakistan against Canada on Tuesday, though still regretted his side not wrapping up the win sooner.

    Pakistan made light work of their 107-run target in New York, easing to their first win at this year's competition with 15 balls to spare and still boasting seven wickets in hand.

    Mohammad Rizwan made a run-a-ball 53 in the chase, while captain Babar added 33 in what proved to be a routine victory.

    Yet having already suffered a shock opening defeat to the United States and a low-scoring loss to rivals India, Babar was frustrated Pakistan could not finish the task sooner against Canada.

    "Good for us, we need this win," Babar said during his post-match interview. "We started well with the bowling, in the first six overs we knew we had to be up to the mark.

    "[Net run-rate] was in our mind, to win before 14 overs but the pitch made it difficult."

    Mohammad Amir managed an economical 2-13 from his four-over spell as Canada's batters failed to get going against Pakistan.

    The Pakistan bowler was named Player of the Match for his efforts, referencing a need for adaptability in the USA and West Indies.

    "As a bowler you have to adopt the conditions, what the conditions are demanding," Amir said. "My role is very clear, what I'm going to do with the new ball and at the death.

    "That's why I'm getting that success. That was a very important win. One more, who knows..."

    Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar, meanwhile, was left frustrated.

    "Definitely, it was a bit disappointing," he said. "We wanted to play a positive brand of cricket and I think the wicket was not very helpful.

    "It was difficult to bat early on; not a good toss to lose. We were about 25 to 30 runs short."

  • Pakistan keep T20 World Cup hopes alive with crucial Canada victory Pakistan keep T20 World Cup hopes alive with crucial Canada victory

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    Muhammad Rizwan made an unbeaten half-century to give the Green Shirts a much-needed win in New York, having started their campaign with back-to-back defeats against the United States and India.

    Aaron Johnson top-scored for Canada with an impressive 52 off 44 balls - including four sixes - as the Maple Leafers finished at 106-7.

    Rizwan and Babar Azam led Pakistan's charge with a stand of 63.

    Azam fell on 33 as he was caught off Dilon Heyliger, but Rizwan kept things ticking over before Usman Khan wrapped up the victory with 15 balls to spare.

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    On a brighter note, Haris Rauf's figure of 2-26 saw him notch up his 100th wicket in T20Is, becoming only the second player from his nation to hit triple figures after Shadab Khan.

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    England must "earn the right" to start thinking about T20 World Cup permutations, says Jos Buttler, whose side face a humiliating early exit in the group stage.

    Matthew Mott's white-ball  were defeated by Australia on Saturday, with their 36-run loss leaving them staring at a group-stage elimination in their T20I title defence.

    That result was compounded by Scotland's thrashing of Oman with 41 balls to spare as England suffered another blow to their hopes of progressing via net run-rate.

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    "I don't think it's s**t or bust quite yet," Buttler told reporters in Antigua. "I think it's quite clear what we need to do and how we need to play.

    "First and foremost, we need to win the game against Oman to have any chance going forward into the next one.

    "So we have to earn the right to try and win the game. And if we can get ourselves in a position to affect our net run-rate, obviously that's what we need to do."

    England then face Namibia on Saturday to round off their group-stage campaign, though two victories for Buttler's side may still not be enough.

    Scotland could still knock them out by beating Australia in their final match after England meet Namibia, when the Scots will have an advantage of a clear picture of what is required.

    "We've looked at a few little bits but it's going to be ever-changing throughout the game," Buttler added.

    "I don't think we need to consume too much energy today and tomorrow saying 'we need to score 'X' amount of runs or win by this much'. I think those kinds of things will develop on the day.

    "That's the situation we find ourselves in, so we have to be aware of that, but not be consumed by that.

    "If we try and do that bit first and forget about trying to win the game and lose, then you've got no chance anyway.

    "So I'd rather have some kind of chance going into the last game, and know exactly what we need to."

    England's white-ball struggles at the tournament have raised questions about Buttler's captaincy and coach Mott's tenure.

    Buttler has no interest in the speculation surrounding his stewardship, however.

    "I care more about the team than the media and the outside noise," he added. "That's always there, it's part of international sport. If you get to this level, you have to be able to deal with it, the job you guys do, that's the job TV does.

    "It's probably harder to completely ignore it in this day and age, but there's a level of acceptance. Our focus has to be on what we can do with our performance.

    "I've played the game long enough now to know that it's very good at building people up and pretty good at criticising when it doesn't go right, especially in England.

    "I do the same thing when I'm watching a game of football or rugby – 'how's he missed that from there?' 'How did he miss from one-yard out', or 'someone's dropped the ball over the line'. Simple things like that.

    "People care. That's why we're able to do what we do because people care and they want to watch. We're a proud team, we want to perform really well for all the fans.

    "But to be honest, all the focus is on us and how well we can play. If we play as well as we can, we'll make our fans happy."

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