Twitterati in awe of Shoaib Malik after his match-winning knock against Afghanistan

He came in when the Men in Green required 100 runs from 89 balls.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Shoaib Malik
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Shoaib Malik & Hassan Ali celebrate Pakistan’s win. (Photo Source: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images)

The 2018 Asia Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi turned out to be a humdinger. Eventually, it was the Men in Green who emerged victorious by three wickets to win their first match of the Super 4 and the triumph was mostly attributed to the calm and collected approach of Shoaib Malik in the dying stages of the encounter.

After Mujeeb Ur Rahman removed Fakhar Zaman for a six-ball duck, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam put on 154 for the second wicket. However, both the batsmen perished in quick succession to leave Pakistan in dire straits. The onus was thereafter on the experience of Shoaib Malik to shepherd the team home. He came in when Sarfraz Ahmed and Co required 100 runs from 89 balls.

Malik guides Pakistan to victory

He put his head down and didn’t play any stroke out of anger. Rather, he picked up the singles and put the loose deliveries away to the boundary. In the 42nd over, he lost Haris Sohail, who looked good before giving his wicket to Mujeeb, at the other end. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed also couldn’t make much of a contribution with the willow.

Moreover, Asif Ali and Mohammad Nawaz also perished in quick time. With nine balls remaining, Pakistan required 16 runs with three wickets in the kitty. Hasan Ali deposited Rashid Khan into the stands to bring the target down to 10 off the last over. In the first ball over the 50th over by Aftab Alam, Malik hit the ball a fair distance but refused the single.

The bowler attempted a slower-bouncer and the ball sat up well for Malik, who used his wrists and flicked the ball over square leg for a massive six. Aftab bowled the third ball down the leg side and Malik had no difficulty in dispatching the ball to the boundary. Furthermore, he also accomplished his half-century in 43 balls. Quite expectantly, Twitter heaped accolades on him.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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