Pakistan defeated Afghanistan in an absolute nail-biter in the 2018 Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The Super Fours encounter went right down to the wire, with the experienced Shoaib Malik hitting the winning runs in the last over.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first in humid conditions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. They managed to score 257/6 in 50 overs thanks to Hashmatullah Shahidi's unbeaten 97 and skipper Asghar Afghan's 67. Mohammad Nawaz was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with three wickets for 57 runs.
In reply, Pakistan looked on course for the most part before Afghanistan pulled things back. At the start, Fakhar Zaman fell for another duck, but the innings was resurrected due to Imam-ul-Haq's 80 and Babar Azam's 66.
Rashid Khan, the brightest young talent in world cricket, brought Afghanistan back in the game by picking three wickets. It looked like Pakistan wouldn't be able to get over the line but Malik had other plans. The veteran right-hander dug deep to remain unbeaten on 51 and take his team home with three balls to spare.
Twitter was full of praise for the valiant effort by the Afghan team.
Here are some tweets
Pakistan will next face India in another blockbuster encounter in Dubai on Sunday.
