Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 3 wickets to keep their semi-final hope alive

Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 3 wickets to keep their semi-final hope alive in the World Cup. Afghanistan is yet to open their account as it is the only with zero points in the tournament so far.

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan bowlers struck early in the game to restrict Afghanistan under 228. Shaheen Afridi was exceptionally good with the ball as he scalped 4 wickets from the 10 overs he bowled. Wahab Riaz and Imad Wasim also took two wickets each.

Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran was the highest run scorer for Afghanistan as both of them scored 42 runs each. Rahmat Shah scored 35, Ikram Ali scored 24 and Samiullah Shinwari scored 19 runs.

In reply, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals after a good 72 run partnership between Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq. However, the men in green won the nail-biting match with the help of Babar Azam’s 45 and Imad Wasim’s 49 runs.

Imam-ul-Haq scored 36 and Haris Sohail scored 27 runs for the team at a crucial moment. Wahab Riaz’s 15 runs off 9 balls at the end proved to be a match-winning knock.

Pakistan has one more game to go and it will play against Bangladesh on July 5, while Afghanistan will face West Indies on July 4 in their last game. Pakistan is now sitting at number four on the points table and it can still qualify for semi-final if England and Bangladesh lose both their games.

Also read: Watch: Pakistan and Afghanistan fans fight at Cricket World Cup match over Balochistan slogan