Afghanistan stun Pakistan to clinch T20I series

Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by seven wickets during the second T20I in Sharjah on Sunday to claim a historic series win.  

Chasing a target of 131 runs, Afghanistan reached home on the penultimate ball of the innings. 

This is Afghanistan's first-ever series win against Pakistan.

Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored with 44 runs in 49 balls for the winning side. Ibrahim Zadran also added 38 runs in 40 balls. 

However, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi provided impetus at the backend of the innings to get their side over the line. 

Zadran scored 23 runs in 12 balls, meanwhile Nabi notched up 14 in 9 with both batters staying unbeaten. 

For Pakistan, Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan claimed one wicket each.

Earlier, Imad Wasim scored his maiden T20I fifty as Pakistan were restricted to 130-6 in their allotted 20 overs after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.

Imad remained unbeaten on 64 runs in 57 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Captain Shadab Khan also chipped in with a crucial contribution of 32 runs in 25 balls.

Imad and Shadab added 66 runs in 54 balls for the sixth wicket partnership to help Pakistan post a competitive total on the board.

Pakistan once again got off to a poor start after pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi struck twice in the first over of the match to send Saim Ayub (0) and Abdullah Shafique (0) back to the hut.

Shafique also became the first player to bag four ducks in a row in T20I cricket.

Apart from Farooqi's two scalps, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rashid Khan and Karim Janat claimed one wicket each. 

There was only one change in the Shadab Khan-led unit as all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has replaced Faheem Ashraf in the lineup. 

Ashraf only scored two runs in eight balls during the first T20I and didn't bowl during Afghanistan's run-chase.

Shadab is leading the side in the absence of Babar Azam, who has been rested for the series.

The Afghanistan T20I series is Pakistan’s first since their T20 World Cup campaign in Australia last year, where they were the runners-up.

It must be noted that, while chasing a target of only 93 runs, Afghanistan reached home in 17.5 overs for the loss of four wickets during the first T20I on Friday.

This was the first win for Afghanistan over Pakistan in international cricket. 

The third T20I of the series will be played on Monday, March 27, at the same venue.

Lineups

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Abdullah Shafique, Tayyab Tahir, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Zaman Khan, Ihsanullah

Afghanistan: Usman Ghani, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq

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