T20 World Cup 2021, Match 24: Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Stats Review: Rashid Khan scripts history, Babar Azam’s milestones and other stats

Another day and another win for Pakistan! They seem to have made a habit of this. Afghanistan were the latest to go down against the Men in Green. It was indeed a thrilling clash that went right down to the wire. Afghanistan also seemed on a better position at one stage. However, Asif Ali’s blitzes took Pakistan to a five-wicket triumph. This victory has also somewhat confirmed a semi-final berth for Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2021.

Earlier in the game, Afghanistan won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat in Dubai. Pakistan bowlers once again shone with the new ball as Afghanistan’s top-order couldn’t do much. Nevertheless, some late impetus from Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, and Gulbadin Naib took the Afghan side to 147/6.

Chasing the tricky total, Pakistan lost in-form Mohammad Rizwan early. However, skipper Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman steadied the ship with a 63-run stand. Just when Pakistan looked on track, fall of quick wickets spiced up the contest. Nevertheless, Asif Ali smashed four sixes in the penultimate over to take his side home.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from Afghanistan vs Pakistan clash in T20 World Cup 2021:

14 – Pakistan have now won 14 consecutive T20I matches in the United Arab Emirates.

18 – This defeat also broke Afghanistan’s 18-match winning streak in T20Is in UAE.

23 – Babar Azam now has 23 scores of fifty or more in T20 Internationals. Only Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are ahead of him.

13 – Azam now also has joint-most fifty-plus scores in T20Is as captain (13). Virat Kohli also has as many half-centuries.

7 – Azam recorded his seventh score of fifty or more in T20Is this year. He’s only behind Mohammad Rizwan (9) on this elite list.

5 –  Azam also became the fifth player to score 900 T20 runs as captain in a calendar year.

4 – Rashid Khan became the fourth player to take 100 wickets in T20 internationals. Lasith Malinga, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tim Southee are the other three.

53 – Having achieved the milestone in just 53 matches, Rashid is also the fastest to the 100-wicket landmark.

2 – Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi recorded the second-highest partnership for the seventh wicket in T20 World Cup (71*).

1 – This is the first occasion of number 6-8 scoring 20+ runs in a T20 World Cup match. Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib scored over 20 in this game.

3 – Among batters who scored over 25 runs in a T20 World Cup match, Asif Ali (357.1) has the highest strike rate.