Naseem Shah's two sixes ensure Pakistan beat Afghanistan, reach final and knock out India

SHARJAH: Tailender Naseem Shah hit two last-over sixes as Pakistan pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win over Afghanistan on Wednesday to set up an Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, knocking out rivals India in the process.

Chasing 130 for victory, Pakistan were in deep trouble at 118-9 when number 10 Naseem muscled two hits over the fence off Fazalhaq Farooqi to win with four balls to spare in Sharjah and end India and Afghanistan's hopes of making the final.

The Afghans appeared set for victory when Farooqi, who had figures of 3-19 from his first three overs, saw two full tosses at the start of the final over dispatched over long-off.

Tempers flew when Fareed Ahmad struck twice in the 19th over, including dismissing the big-hitting Asif Ali who then angrily waved his bat at the bowler as the umpire cooled him down.

In a game dominated by bowlers, Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf led an inspired attack that limited Afghanistan to 129-6 after Pakistan elected to field first.

Farooqi trapped skipper Babar Azam lbw for a first-ball duck to give Afghanistan immediate hope of defending the low total.

Babar has suffered a dip in form, with scores of 10, nine and 14 in the previous three matches.

Pakistan suffered another blow when Fakhar Zaman was run out to leave the team 18-2.

Mohammad Rizwan, the tournament's leading run-scorer and who replaced his captain as the world's number one T20I batsman on Wednesday, attempted to rebuild the innings with Iftikhar Ahmed.

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke through by trapping Rizwan lbw for 20 and the batsman trudged back to the pavilion after an unsuccessful review.

Vice-captain Shadab was sent in ahead of Khushdil Shah and he delivered by taking on Nabi's off-spin with a six and four to ease the pressure.

A struggling Shadab, with likely cramps, fell to Rashid for 35.

But number 10 Naseem had the last laugh at a venue where former Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad once hit a last-ball six against India in the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also due to play another Super Four encounter, a dead rubber given that the two teams are already through to the final.

Scoreboard

   Afghanistan
   H. Zazai b Hasnain               21
   R. Gurbaz b Rauf                 17
   I.Zadran c Rizwan b Haris Rauf   35
   K. Janat c Fakhar b Nawaz        15
   N. Zadran c Fakhar b Shadab      10
   M. Nabi b Naseem                  0
   A. Omarzai not out               10
   R. Khan not out                  18
   Extras (nb1, w2)                  3
   Total (6 wickets, 20 overs)     129
   Did not bat: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, F. Ahmad, F. Farooqi 
   Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Gurbaz), 2-43 (Zazai), 3-78 (Janat), 4-91 (Najibullah), 5-91 (Nabi), 6-104 (Ibrahim)
   Bowling: Naseem 4-0-19-1, Hasnain 4-0-34-1, Rauf 4-0-26-2, Nawaz 4-0-23-1, Shadab 4-0-27-1

   Pakistan (target 130)
   M. Rizwan lbw b Rashid           20
   B. Azam lbw b Fazalhaq            0
   F. Zaman run out (Najibullah)     5
   I. Ahmed c Ibrahim b Fareed      30
   S. Khan c Omarzai b Rashid       36
   M. Nawaz lbw b Fazalhaq           4
   A. Ali c Janat b Fareed          16
   K. Shah b Farooqi                 1
   H. Rauf b Fareed                  0
   N. Shah not out                  14
   M. Hasnain not out                0
   Extras (lb4, w1)                  5
   Total (9 wickets, 19.2 overs)   131
   Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Azam), 2-18 (Fakhar), 3-45 (Rizwan), 4-87 (Iftikhar), 5-97 (Shadab), 6-105 (Nawaz), 7-109 (Khushdil), 8-110 (Rauf), 9-118 (Asif)
   Bowling: Farooqi 3.2-0-31-3, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 4-0-12-0, Fareed 4-0-31-3 (w1), Rashid 4-0-25-2, Nabi 3-0-22-0, Omarzai 1-0-6-0

   Toss: Pakistan
   Result: Pakistan won by one wicket
   Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (IND), Jayaraman Madanagopal (IND)
   TV Umpire: Gazi Sohel (BAN)
   Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

Live updates

Pakistan innings

Pakistan - 119/9 in 19 overs

Pakistan - 109/7 in 18 overs.

WICKET: Farooqi gets another big wicket. Khushdil departs for 1.

Pakistan 109/6 in 17.5 over.

Pakistan - 105/6 in 17.1 overs.

WICKET: Farooqi gets Nawaz at a crucial stage.

Pakistan - 105/5 in 17 overs.

Six: Asif Ali hits Rashid for a six.

WICKET: Rashid has the last laugh. Gets Shadab on the next ball.

Shadab departs for 36. Pakistan - 97/5 in 16.2 overs.

SIX: Shadab Khan sends Rashid to the stands.

Pakistan - 91/4 in 16 overs.

Mohammad Nawaz walks in.

WICKET: Fareed removes Iftikhar. He departs for 30.

Pakistan - 87/4 in 15.3 overs.

Pakistan - 85/3 in 15 overs.

Pakistan - 82/3 in 14 overs.

Pakistan - 79/3 in 13 overs.

Six: Shadab Khan hits Mujib for a huge six.

Pakistan - 72/3 in 12 overs

14-run over for Pakistan.

SIX: Shadab Khan hits Nabi for a six.

Pakistan - 58/3 in 11 overs

Pakistan - 52/3 in 10 overs

Pakistan - 48/3 in 9 overs.

Shadab Khan walks in.

WICKET: Rashid Khan gets Rizwan. He departs for 20.

Pakistan - 45/3 after 8.4 overs.

Pakistan - 43/2 in 8 overs.

Pakistan - 39/2 in 7 overs.

Pakistan - 35/2 in 6 overs.

12-run over.

Pakistan - 32/2 in 5 overs.

Pakistan - 20/2 in 4 overs.

WICKET: Fakhar Zaman run out. Pakistan 18/2 in 3.1 overs.

Pakistan - 18/1 in 3 overs.

SIX: Rizwan hits Farooqi for a six.

Pakistan - 8/1 in 2 overs.

Pakistan - 6/1 in 1 over.

WICKET: Babar Azam departs for a duck. Pakistan - 1/1 in BR Web

Afghanistan innings

INNINGS BREAK - Afghanistan - 129/6 after 20 overs.

FOUR: Rashid Khan hits Rauf for a four next ball.

SIX: Rashid Khan hits Rauf for a six.

Afghanistan 119/6 after 19 overs.

Afghanistan 113/6 after 18 overs.

WICKET: Rauf gets Ibrahim Zadran. He goes for 35.

Afghanistan - 104/6 after 16.3 overs

Afghanistan - 104/5 after 16 overs.

SIX: Ibrahim Zadran hits Shadab for a huge six over cover.

WICKET: Naseem gets Mohammad Nabi. He departs for a duck.

Afghanistan - 91/5 after 14.1 overs

WICKET: Shadab removes Najibullah. He departs for 10.

Afghanistan - 91/4 after 14 overs.

SIX: Najibullah hits Shadab Khan for a massive six.

Afghanistan - 8/3 after 13 overs

Afghanistan - 79/3 after 12 overs

WICKET: Nawaz removes Karim Janat. He departs for 15.

Afghanistan - 78/3 after 11.2 overs

Afghanistan - 77/2 after 11 overs

Afghanistan - 72/2 after 10 overs

Afghanistan - 64/2 after 9 overs.

Afghanistan - 61/2 after 8 overs.

WICKET: Hasnain removes Hazratullah Zazai. Afghanistan - 42/2 in 4.5 overs.

WICKET: Rauf bowls Gurbaz. Afghanistan - 36/1 in 3.5 overs.

Afghanistan - 27/0 after 3 overs.

Afghanistan - 4/0 after 1 over.

Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz come out to bat for Afghanistan. Naseem Shah to open the bowling attack.

Earlier updates

Pakistan had remained unchanged from their previous win over India, who have lost both their Super Four matches so far.

"The pitch looks nice and the second thing is the dew factor, that's why we are bowling first," Azam said at the toss.

"Hopefully we pick up early wickets and restrict them. The mood is cool and calm and we will try to continue the (winning) momentum."

Afghanistan, who lost their previous match to Sri Lanka at the same venue, made two changes to stay in the hunt for the final with Azmatullah Omarzai and Fareed Ahmad Malik making the team.

Skipper Mohammad Nabi brought up a landmark 100th T20 international appearance since making his debut in 2010.

"We would have bowled first. There will be dew, later on, the humidity is too much and the ball does not grip towards the end, it is all part of the game," Nabi said.

"But we will try and put a big score on the board. It is always a tough game against Pakistan. We have had a lot of good games in the past and we will try our best to not repeat our mistakes."

Teams

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wkt), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain