Pakistan nail biting win against Afghanistan on second last ball of the 2nd ODI match
In second ODI Pakistan steal stunning win from Afghanistan on the second last ball of the match. What a game that was, a total drama in the last five overs when the game was shifting in the favor of one and then after some deliveries in the favor of the second team.
By choosing to play first, Afghasitan make 300 runs in 50 overs with the help of Rahmanullaha Gurbaz 151 runs on 151 balls. Afghanistan starts the match very well and did no loose their first wicket till 227 runs.
Pakistan started well the chase but soon lost their first wicket at the run of 52 when Fakahar Zaman lost his wicket, then Babar and Imam set the platform for the win for Pakistan with 118 runs partnership but after that no one stands still till Shadab at the end taking the Pakistan near to the victory.
Finally on the second last ball of the last over, Pakistan steal the victory.
Man of the match award was given to Shadab Khan for his impressive innings at a very crucial stage of the match, Shadab Khan says “When you are a senior player, you go through these stages every time. I try to be as calm as possible. The pitch was…their players have worked class spinners, so I wanted to take on fast bowlers. The boundaries were long. My plan was to go for two’s. After that shot [against Zimbabwe at the World Cup], we lost the game. I was blaming myself. For me, that was a crucial moment.”
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan captain said after the match, ” It is hurting because we had enough runs but at the last moment they took the game away from us. The over which…49th over there were some easy balls to the batsman and they smashed it. They are playing very good from one and half years. I want them to play the same way. Both are good sides. The pressure, we weren’t able to control.”
Babar Azam the winning captain said after the match, “All credit to the boys. We just tried to build the partnership when me and Imam were playing, just wanted to play long and see where we stand after 40 overs. We knew we could chase 80 or 90 in the last 10 overs. Naseem also comes up in crunch situations. [Batting against spin] I always try to improve. Can never be satisfied. We see different quality of bowling. I am never worried about my skills and just back my skills at all times. All focus on the last match.”
