Twitter Reactions: Shahidi and Afghan-blitz propel Afghanistan to 257

Afghanistan had a resounding outing in the group stages of the Asia Cup having won against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the first match of the Super 4, they are currently up against Pakistan, who after their win against Hong Kong, slumped against India. Meanwhile, the Afghan batsmen have put up an impressive show and scored 257/6 runs in 50 overs courtesy of their middle order.

Nawaz jolts Afghanistan  

Asghar Afghan won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first. Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat commenced proceedings and made a steady start. Mohammad Nawaz, who replaced Shadab Khan, drew first blood by dismissing Ihsanullah. In his very next over, the left-arm off-break bowler nipped out Shahzad for 20 runs. The onus was then on Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Both put their heads down and cobbled together a stand of 63 runs from 92 balls and restored sanity back into the Afghan innings. Nawaz came into Pakistan’s rescue as he got rid of the right-handed Rahmat, who seemed to have got the measure of the conditions and the bowling. Skipper Afghan, who couldn’t score in the first two matches, joined Shahidi in the middle.

Shahidi and Afghan blaze away

At 94/3 in 25.3 overs, Afghanistan found themselves in a bit of trouble, however, Afghan and Shahidi bailed them out. Both blended caution with aggression and steadfastly scored the runs. Eventually, both scored half-centuries and built a stand of 94 runs from 99 deliveries. The partnership was broken by Shaheen Afridi, who cleaned up Afghan when the batter went for a cross-batted hoick.

Mohammad Nabi tried to accelerate but became Afridi’s second victim. Najibullah Zadran, who didn’t play the last match, fell prey to Hasan Ali. Shahidi tried to step on the gas in the death overs but strained to make a proper connection. However, he somehow notched a gear up and scored 97 runs from 118 balls. Pakistan aren’t expected to have a cakewalk of a run-chase by any stretch of the imagination.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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