Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2018 Highlights Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2018 Highlights: Imam-ul-Haq may have bee the highest scorer, but Pakistan needed the experienced shoulders of Shoaib Malik to carry them through. Rohit needed just 94 runs to reach the milestone, and the win was one more reason to celebrate. Went for another yorker and it was on the pads and Malik got it prime behind square. Another impressive win for India. While he took 181 innings to his landmark, only Virat Kohli 161 and Sourav Ganguly 174 have achieved this much quicker. Often in cricket, the 'Law of Averages' catches up with the best performing teams at a critical juncture. Autobus are the possible players who can be part of Bangladesh team today. The other Indians to do so are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. The next best Rayudu has played 162 balls. The 154-run stand for the tout wicket is broken.
M Nawaz to M Shahzad, OUT! One brings two and Nawaz is making an impact here. He is surely ensuring Shadab is not missed today. He tosses it up on off, it pitches and then turns away. Shahzad goes for a drive but the ball takes an outside edge and Sarfraz behind the stumps, takes a very good catch. Nawaz is delighted as he is up and running in celebration. He will be on a hat-trick. The dangerous MS departs for another low score and Afghanistan are in a spot of bother here. M Nawaz to Ihsanullah, OUT! Nawaz draws first blood. The pressure of dots has gotten to Ihsanullah. The frustration was creeping into him and he now perishes. Once again it is the flatter delivery on middle, it straightens a touch. Ihsanullah tries to punch it off the back foot but does so uppishly back to the bowler who accepts an easy catch moving to his right. So, end of a wicket maiden and Nawaz now has figures of 2-1-2-1. M Nawaz to R Shah, OUT! Pakistan have broken through and who gets the wicket? Wait, let me make it easy for you, the guy who has already taken two today. Yes, you got it right, Nawaz gets his third. This big shot was around the corner, wasn't it? It does come but results in a wicket. Nawaz bowls it on middle, Shah goes for the slog sweep. But it is the wrong option as it is against the turn. The ball takes the top edge and goes high up in the air beside the wicket. Nawaz moves to his right and takes it on the second attempt. Breaks the 63-run stand and Shah departs after getting a start. S Afridi to A Afghan, OUT! Sound of timber followed by a big roar from the debutant. Quite a few catches went down off his bowling but this time he has taken matters into his own hands by lighting the stumps. The slower off cutter has done the trick. It's angled into the batsman, Afghan is beaten due to the lack of pace and is way early into his shot. The ball arrives late, sneaks past him to kiss the middle stump. End of a very fine knock by the skipper and his 94-run stand with Hashmatullah Shahidi has put Afghanistan in a good position. S Afridi to M Nabi, OUT! Two wickets in two overs for Afridi. At last a catch has been taken off his bowling by a Pakistan player. The dangerous Mohammad Nabi departs cheaply. This is full and on the pads, Nabi looks to flick it but gets more height than distance. Hasan Ali at deep square leg settles under it and takes it nicely. Good phase of play for Pakistan. H Ali to N Zadran, OUT! You miss, I hit stuff there as Hasan Ali gets his first. However, this could be a blessing in disguise for Afghanistan as Zadran's innings was going nowhere. Ali bowls the slower ball on a length around middle, Zadran swings but misses it by a long way. The ball hits him on the pads and goes onto hit the middle pole. Extras lb 2, w 1, nb 2, b 0 5 Fall of wickets : 1-26 Ihsanullah , 8. Mujeeb strikes in the first over itself. The dangerous Zaman goes for another duck. Dream start for Afghanistan. This is very full around the off pole. Zaman picks the wrong ball to play the sweep shot. He misses and the ball hits his pads. The players appeal and the umpire, after giving it a thought, raises the finger. Fakhar walks up to his partner and has a chat but then does not take the review. Because the impact could have been an issue there. In fact, the Hawk Eye, later on, shows that the impact was outside off. Zaman will be kicking himself after looking at the replays. Afghanistan though will rejoice as they are off to a great start. R Khan to Imam, OUT! Imam is well short of the crease. Is this the turning point of the match? Coming to the delivery, it's full and around off, Imam pushes it gently to cover-point and rushes across for a single. Najibullah Zadran attacks the ball inside the circle and scores a direct hit at the bowler's end. They appeal, Rashid is all smiles and the umpire goes upstairs. The replays roll in and tell us why the leggie was smiling. The century partnership has been broken. Brilliance in the field has provided them with a breakthrough. Can the bowlers step up now and deliver the goods? R Khan to B Azam, OUT! Azam is short and Afghanistan are back in the game. It is Rashid Khan who gets Pakistan's talisman. But credit has to be given to Shahzad as he was lightning quick behind the stumps. It is the leggie from Rashid and it is just behind a driving length. Azam goes for the drive but the ball turns and beats the outside edge. Azam loses his balance and Shahzad, behind the stumps, whips the bails off in a flash before appealing. He seems to be pretty confident but the umpire takes it upstairs. Replays roll in and they show that Azam is out of his crease. Azam departs after playing a very good innings and now both the set batsmen are back in the hut. Ur Rahman to H Sohail, OUT! Afghanistan are still hanging in there. Haris Sohail departs for a low score. A poor shot, to be honest. The last over went for 11 runs and this risk was not needed. He though still takes it, that too without picking the googly and tries to hit the ball over the long on fence. There is no timing on the shot and it goes towards long on, where Ihsanullah takes a decent catch after moving swiftly to his right. Another 64 needed in 53. G Naib to S Ahmed, OUT! Bowled off a full toss, can you believe it? Naib lures the batsman with a juicy delivery, slower in pace, Sarfraz makes space to hammer it through the line but misses the ball completely. The stumps are shattered and this game once again is thrown wide open. Extras lb 2, w 13, nb 0, b 2 17 Fall of wickets : 1-0 Fakhar Zaman , 0.
