AFG vs PAK 2nd ODI, PAK vs AFG 2023

Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first, and their decision to bat first proved to be right as both their openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, provided a solid start with the bat and made a bold statement. The pair kept batting in sublime form and oozed Pakistani bowling. Gurbaz struggled with his forearm pain, but the right-handed batter fought like a warrior and kept batting, bringing up his fifth ODI century. Pakistani bowlers toiled hard to extract a wicket, but they faced stubborn resistance from the other end. Finally, Usama Mir trapped Zadran for 80 runs and ceased the 227-run opening stand in the 40th over of the innings. Mohammad Nabi was promoted to number three, and he contributed with a run-a-ball 29 runs. Gurbaz continued his merry ways and went on to complete 150 runs, and his impressive innings came to an end with 151 runs in the 45th over of the innings. 

Rashid Khan was promoted to number four, but he failed to settle in the middle and departed for 2 runs. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi contributed an unbeaten 15 runs at the cue end of the innings and helped his side touch the 300-run mark. Pakistani bowlers bowled well in the last powerplay, conceding only 73 runs in the last 10 overs, and restricting Afghanistan to 300/5. Shaheen Afridi bagged a couple of wickets, while Naseem Shah and Usama Mir contributed one wicket. 

In pursuit of Afghanistan’s 300 runs, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq provided Pakistan with a decent start as the pair batted sensibly and glued a 52-run partnership for the first wicket. However, Fazalhaq Farooqi trapped Fakhar for 30 runs and drew the first blood for Afghanistan. Babar Azam joined Iman at number three, and the duo started building the partnership in the middle. Afghanistan's bowlers struggled to break the partnership, and both Pakistani batters achieved their fifty-run milestones on the occasion. However, Afghanistan managed to break this partnership as Fazalhaq Farooqi trapped skipper Babar for 53 runs, and following the wicket of Babar, Pakistan faced a mini collapse and lost a few wickets in a jiffy, which included the wicket of sett-batter Imam, who fell 9 runs shy of his well-deserved century. 

Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan started the rescue work, and the pair rotated the strike sensibly but failed to score at a brisk pace, and the required run rate was climbing. The equation was reduced to 46 runs off the last four overs, and Iftikhar, who tried to score quickly, holed out in deep and departed for 17 runs off 24 balls. Shaheen Afridi departed for 4 runs off 5 balls. Shadab smashed 16 runs in the penultimate over and reduced the equation to 11 runs off the last over. 

The game was almost over when Farooqi attempted a run out at the non-striker's end as Shadab left his crease early, and had to walk back, but Naseem Shah once again snatched the victory from Afghanistan by smashing a boundary off the penultimate ball of the match. 

Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged three wickets for Afghanistan but failed to save 11 runs against two tailenders. Mohammad Nabi chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Abdul Rahman contributed one wicket. 

Stay tuned for the post-match presentation and captains' speaking.🗣