Pakistan captain Agha reveals ‘pick of the bowlers’ in Afghanistan victory

SHARJAH: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha hailed Mohammad Nawaz as the standout bowler from their 39-run victory over Afghanistan in the opening match of the T20I tri-series here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The Green Shirts comfortably defended the 183-run target by bundling out Afghanistan on a modest 143 in 19.5 overs.

Right-arm speedster Haris Rauf remained the top-wicket taker with four scalps, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem and Nawaz made two each.

Despite Rauf’s four-wicket haul, Agha hailed Nawaz as his ‘pick of the bowlers’, highlighting his ability to bowl tough overs in challenging conditions for a finger-spinner.

He further praised the experienced pace duo of Rauf and Shaheen, listing them among the best fast bowlers in world cricket.

“Bowling was outstanding, whoever comes, they bowled really well. Haris and Shaheen are one of the best fast bowlers in the world,” said Agha at the post-match presentation.

“The pick of the bowlers for me was Nawaz, he bowled outstandingly well. Not easy for a fingerspinner, he always bowls the tough overs and I'm so happy for him,” he added.

The skipper played a pivotal role in guiding Pakistan to a defendable total of 182/7 by top-scoring with an unbeaten 53 off 36 deliveries, studded with three fours and as many sixes.

Commenting on his blistering knock, Agha shared that he was confident of hitting sixes against any spinner, crediting their arrival to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 10 days ahead of the ongoing assignment.

“I saw the first 7-8 overs, it was holding when they bowl slower and I knew if I get in, I am good enough to hit a few sixes against any spinner,” Agha continued.

“I'm not as good as I used to be, we have played so much spin, we came here 10 days early, we know there will be lots of spin and we are up to the challenge.

“Scoring above-par and it was 150-160 kind of wicket and knew when we scored 180 it was going to be challenging. Always in team meetings we talk about going above-par. We have lots of batting. We have Faheem at 8 and he is a good enough batter to win a game on his own.”