Afghanistan’s hopes for a series sweep against Pakistan were dashed when the Green Team won the third and last T20I between the two sides by 66 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday, March 27.
Despite five of their top players being rested, Pakistan managed to put up a strong fight and scored 182-7 in their stipulated 20 overs. They then went on to bowl out Afghanistan for 116 with eight balls to spare.
Pakistan’s interim captain Shadab Khan and young fast bowler Ihsanullah were the heroes of the match, sharing six wickets between them. Shadab’s impressive performance of 3/13 made him the first Pakistani men’s player to reach 100 wickets in T20s. Meanwhile, Ihsanullah’s short-pitched deliveries earned him 3 for 29.
Shadab also made a significant contribution with the bat, scoring 28 runs off just 17 balls towards the end of Pakistan’s innings. However, Saim Ayub missed out on his first T20 half-century by just one run.
We fell short by 66 runs in the 3rd game and the #AFGvPAK series ends 2-1 in Afghanistan's favor 🙌
Not the desired result we would have wanted but #AfghanAtalan are proud to have won the series 2-1, thanks to some outstanding all-round displays in the series👏#LobaBaRangRawri pic.twitter.com/IGYOCnxxr6
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 27, 2023
“It’s a special occasion to be part of this team,” said Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan in the post match presentation. “We won the series, but we have some areas to improve on. We responded well under pressure. We have struggled under pressure in the past but I’m happy that we chased in a couple of games.”
Despite their loss in the final match, Afghanistan’s achievement of winning their first match and series against Pakistan in any format was a historic moment. It was a remarkable effort, and the team can take pride in their overall performance.
