ICC World Cup 2019: PM Imran Khan congratulates Pakistan; compliments Afghanistan’s performance

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been following the ongoing World Cup very closely as one would’ve expected and has been sharing his expertise online with skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed constantly. The 1992 World Cup winning skipper congratulated the side after a hard-fought win against Afghanistan, which literally went to the 100th over of the game to decide the outcome.

It seemed like Pakistan had blown their chances of winning the game with a middle order collapse. Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan added a sensational 50-run partnership for the 7th wicket which saw Pakistan clinch the game from the jaws of defeat. Wahab Riaz’s cameo too was crucial in the end as Imad Wasim’s boundary towards extra-cover sealed the deal for Pakistan.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan was quick to congratulate the team and also complimented Afghanistan for their spirited performance not just in this game, but against India as well. “Congratulations to the Pakistan team for keeping their nerve under pressure and in the end winning against Afghanistan. I also especially want to congratulate Afghanistan for the grit and determination with which they played against Pakistan today & against India earlier,” said Imran via his official Twitter handle.

Congratulations to the Pakistan team for keeping their nerve under pressure and in the end winning against Afghanistan. I also especially want to congratulate Afghanistan for the grit and determination with which they played against Pakistan today & against India earlier.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 29, 2019

Poor decisions cost Afghanistan a golden chance

It seemed like Afghanistan had the game firmly under control with five overs remaining and 46 runs to get. Gulbadin Naib then took a match-turning decision to take up the ball himself for that over although he had three more overs of spin left. The spinners were doing a fantastic job till then and scoring against Rashid Khan was proving to be impossible. This over from Gulbadin completely shifted the balance towards Pakistan as Imad Wasim went bonkers.

The all-rounder smashed three boundaries in the over and collected 18 runs off the over, which brought the equation to just 28 runs in the last four overs. Wahab Riaz came out and hit a couple of very important boundaries although he had a fractured finger, which ensured they needed just six runs off the final over. Imad Wasim caressed the ball towards covers to seal a very important win for the Men in green, which keeps them ahead of England as it stands.