Dhaka – Pakistan need 228 runs against Afghanistan in their eighth match of the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup at Headingly, Leeds, on Saturday.
A win in this match will keep Pakistan’s hope to qualify for the semifinals of the mega event alive. They have managed seven points from their previous seven matches.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first. But they failed to post a challenging total against the Pakistan bowling attack who are becoming stronger as the tournament is going ahead.
Shaheen Afridi took two wickets in two successive balls as Afghanistan lost their first two wickets in just 27 runs. They Afghans never looked to overcome the initial damage.
Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran were the best batsmen of Afghanistan as both of them posted 42 each.
Along with them, Rahmat Shah (35), Ikram Ali Khil (24), Mohammad Nabi (15) and Samiullah Shenwari (19) looked set on the middle. But they failed to put up the big innings as they lost the wickets in regular intervals.
Afghanistan got their biggest partnership when Asghar and Ikram added 64 runs during the fourth wicket stand. But Shadab Khan removed Asghar and a potential big partnership came to an end.
Eventually, Afghanistan tumbled for 227 for nine wickets in 50 overs.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi took four wickets for 47 runs while Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz bagged two wickets each.
Afghanistan have already been eliminated from the tournament. They have lost all of their previous seven matches.UNB
