Imad Wasim gives a quick interview. Says that the crowd is supporting them a lot and it feels like home. On his first wicket of this World Cup, he replies that it was not in his mind as he was just looking to bowl according to his skipper's plan. Imad says after Powerplay 1 there was some moisture and later on it started to skid and hence he changed his plan and bowled slow. On the surface, Wasim feels if a bowler bowls slowly through the air, they will be rewarded and the ball will grip too. Imad believes they should chase it with ease but is aware of the talent Afghanistan possess in their bowling.
At one moment, it looked like Afghanistan won't bat out their full quota of overs but Najibullah Zadran then constructed a couple of handy partnerships to help them reach a respectable total. Shaheen Afridi was the most impressive bowler on show and he was nicely assisted by other bowlers. The young man finished with a 4-wicket haul to back up his 3-wicket effort against New Zealand. Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan also combined for three wickets although on this pitch, Pakistan would have expected a bit more from them.
Superb bowling effort by Pakistan but they will be a bit disappointed to allow Afghanistan bat out 50 overs and get their total to 227. It was a real struggle for the Afghans right from the beginning. Shaheen Afridi struck twice in his first over and pegged them back. Rahmat Shah played some delightful shots after that but then he was sent packing by Imad Wasim. A little stand between Ikram Ali Khil and Asghar Afghan steadied the ship somewhat but after that partnership was broken, Afghanistan were soon reduced to 125/5.
49.6 overs (2 Runs) Full on middle, Mujeeb strokes it to long on and takes a run. Shinwari calls him for the second and Mujeeb responds. It was always going to be risky. The fielder throws it at the keeper's end. The throw though is wide of the stumps. Sarfaraz collects it and looks to hit the stump with a diving underarm throw. He misses and his dive in the meanwhile takes down Mujeeb too. Shinwari looks for another run but Mujeeb hasn't recovered after his mini-collision. AFGHANISTAN FINISH WITH 227/9 FROM THEIR 50 OVERS.
49.5 overs (0 Run) Back of a length ball outside off, Amir takes the pace off it. Mujeeb tries to hit but misses.
49.4 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! Good length ball on off, Mujeeb throws his bat at it. This time Mujeeb gets a thick outside edge and the ball goes to the third man fence for a boundary.
49.3 overs (0 Run) Outside off on a length, Mujeeb looks to hit but fails again.
49.2 overs (0 Run) Slower ball outside off, once again Mujeeb swings his bat and fails to connect yet again.
49.1 overs (0 Run) Slower one outside off, Mujeeb swings his bat at it but misses.
48.6 overs (0 Run) Full on off, Shinwari strokes it to sweeper cover and for some reason they do not take the run.
48.5 overs (1 Run) Another yorker. Mujeeb once again does well to get his bat down. This time the ball goes towards third man and they take a single.
48.4 overs (0 Run) Well played. Yorker around off, Mujeeb moves and does well to tap it to point.
48.3 overs (0 Run) Oh! That was almost the end of the innings. Full outside off, Mujeeb looks to drive but gets beaten.
48.3 overs (1 Run) WIDE! Poor delivery this. Bowls it down the leg side to the number 11. Mujeeb leaves it alone and it is wided.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the last batsman for Afghanistan. Can they bat out the remaining 8 balls?
48.2 overs (0 Run) OUT! Bowled! Comes 'round the wicket and bowls a fast yorker on middle and off at 140 kph. This is just too good a ball for the number 10. Hassan is outdone by the pace. The ball goes on to disturb the stumps. Afghanistan once again might not play out their quota of 50 overs here.
48.1 overs (1 Run) Spears it in on middle, Shinwari does well to flick it to deep mid-wicket. He though manages to get just a single.
Wahab Riaz to bowl the penultimate over of this innings. He has not gone for many but has been pretty inconsistent with his lines. Pakistan will hope he finishes well.
47.6 overs (1 Run) Full on middle, Shinwari nudges it to long on and keeps the strike.
47.5 overs (0 Run) Outside off, Shinwari leaves it alone. He thinks it will be wided but the umpire feels it is at the right side of the tramline.
47.4 overs (1 Run) Full on the stumps, Hassan strokes it to long on and gives Shinwari the strike.
47.3 overs (0 Run) Smart bowling this. Amir takes the pace off the ball and bowls it outside off, Hassan looks to run it down on the off side but misses.
47.2 overs (1 Run) Very full ball on middle, Shinwari milks it down to long on and gets just a single.
47.1 overs (4 Runs) EDGED AND FOUR! Good length ball outside off, Shinwari swings his bat at it. He gets a thick inside edge and luckily for him it goes past the stumps and on to the fine leg fence. Afghanistan will take it no matter how it comes.
46.6 overs (1 Run) Full on middle, Shinwari flicks it to deep mid-wicket and keeps the strike. Shaheen finishes with figures of 10-0-47-4. Outstanding effort by the young man.
46.5 overs (0 Run) Full outside off, Shinwari swings his bat at it but misses.
The new man in is Hamid Hassan.
46.4 overs (0 Run) OUT! Caught! Shaheen gets his fourth of the game and he is having a blast! Slower ball on off, Rashid gets outfoxed by the change in pace. Khan looks to hit it straight but he is way too early in his shot. Rashid ends up chipping it towards mid off. Fakhar Zaman runs to his left and takes an easy catch.
46.3 overs (0 Run) Bouncer! It is on the body, Rashid sits under it. Good ball this as the fine leg and third man are deep.
46.2 overs (2 Runs) Full on off, Rashid clears his front leg and lofts it over covers. He does not time it well so the ball doesn't reach the fence. The batsmen take two as the fielder gathers it.
46.1 overs (0 Run) Nicely bowled! Slower ball outside off, Rashid comes down the track and looks to hit it but misses.
45.6 overs (1 Run) Back of a length from Amir now. Rashid pulls it to mid-wicket and gets a single.
45.5 overs (4 Runs) FOUR! What a shot! Magnificent! Full on middle, Rashid plays a half helicopter shot to hit it through mid-wicket for a boundary.
45.4 overs (0 Run) Slower ball on a length, Rashid looks to defend but the ball comes on later than he expected. He defends it off the upper half of his bat.
45.3 overs (0 Run) On off, Rashid strokes it to point.
45.2 overs (0 Run) Hits the deck hard and bowls it on top of middle, Rashid tucks it towards mid on and shouts a loud no.
45.1 overs (0 Run) Good length ball on off, Rashid defends it back to the bowler.
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Right then, the pitch is offering turn and Afghanistan have some good spinners in their ranks. So far, Rashid Khan has not left much impact in this World Cup and would like to roar back to form. Pakistan have an in-form batting line-up and should chase it down easily but they need to be careful in their approach. Do join us in a short while for the chase.