ICC World Cup 2019: Match 36, Pakistan vs Afghanistan – Who Said What

Afghanistan have not been keeping their nerves in close games. It happened in the Asia Cup last year and it has happened twice in the 2019 World Cup. They came excruciatingly close against India and frankly should’ve won against Pakistan. But a couple of bad decisions during the crunch moments let them down and they eventually lost the game.

Having said that, one shouldn’t take any credit away from Imad Wasim for the way he batted. He came out when his team was in absolute doldrums. Moreover, Sarfaraz Ahmed got run-out at the same time and Imad himself was not able to read Rashid Khan at all. But he survived the tough phase and smartly picked Gulbadin Naib to hit 18 runs in the 46th over which turned the game on its head.

That over eased the pressure completely and even Wahab Riaz smashed Rashid for a six and a four when it mattered the most to clinch it for Pakistan. They stay well and truly alive in the competition and rather, have toppled England to climb to the fourth position.

Pacers do well for Pakistan

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan opted to bat first after winning the toss but kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Despite starting well, they found themselves struggling at 57/3. Asghar Afghan counterattacked then and especially targetted Shadab Khan. The former captain scored 42 runs and also added 64 runs with Ikram Ali Khil.

But Shadab itself got the better of Afghan and even Ikram lost his way to leave the team reeling at 125/5. However, Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran showed heart to build a partnership again. Just when things looked like going their way, Nabi top-edged a Wahab Riaz bouncer. But Najibullah didn’t lose heart and played a fighting knock of 42 runs only to get out in the 45th over.

Afghanistan couldn’t get the final flourish and could only reach 227 runs for the loss of 9 wickets after 50 overs. But they managed to make a thrilling game out of it and made Pakistan earn each and every run.

Man of the Match, Imad Wasim said:

When I went, Rashid was bowling brilliantly. Couldn’t pick him to be honest. Just hung in there. Decided to play fifty overs. He (Naib) was the only bowler who could’ve been targeted to be honest.

Wicket was turning square. They’ve got world class spinners. Plan was to attack when fast bowler comes in. Thanks to the crowd. Feels like home here. Win next game, never know what can happen. Now we believe we can win from anywhere.

Pakistan captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed said:

Thanks to the crowd, they cheered us all the way. It is a great win for us. Not an easy pitch to bat on, but credit goes to Imad – the way he batted, the way he handled pressure, hats off to him. We knew it was not an easy chase, their bowlers used the conditions very well.

Babar and Imam played very well, we needed a partnership in the middle that didn’t happen, but we got it in the end. A full team effort. We all knew it’s not an easy task in the World Cup, but we took it match by match. Shaheen Afridi is improving day by day, he’s working very hard.

The other bowlers also bowled really well. All are in good nick. (On England vs India crunch game) Obviously we’ll all watch, hopefully the better team will win.

Afghanistan captain, Gulbadin Naib said:

Fought really well. Gave 100%. We missed opportunities to win. Credit to Pakistan, they controlled their nerves. Imad played really well. Shadab did well too, rotated strike. In this tournament, you’ll face these kinds of situations.

Bad luck for us today, Hamid Hassan was injured. If he would’ve been there, would’ve been difficult for Pakistan. That was the turning point. Batsman need to take more responsibility. Thank you to the tremendous crowd here.