SHARJAH: Pakistan lifted the T20I tri-series trophy after a commanding 75-run victory over Afghanistan, thanks to a stunning five-wicket haul by Mohammad Nawaz, his maiden five-fer, at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 142, Afghanistan collapsed to just 66 all out. Their chase unraveled from the first over when Shaheen Afridi removed opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for five. Abrar Ahmed struck in the sixth over, dismissing Sediqullah Atal (13), leaving Afghanistan at 28-2.
The match turned decisively in Pakistan’s favour when Nawaz ripped through the middle order. In one over, he removed Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai on consecutive balls, before completing a hat-trick with Ibrahim Zadran’s wicket in the next over, courtesy of a sharp stumping by Mohammad Haris. Nawaz then claimed Karim Janat for a duck, reducing Afghanistan to 32-5.
From there, wickets fell rapidly. Abrar Ahmed dismissed Mohammad Nabi (3) while Nawaz returned to remove skipper Rashid Khan (17) for his fifth scalp, leaving Afghanistan 55-8. The tail offered little resistance as Sufiyan Muqeem and AM Ghazanfar cleaned up the innings. Afghanistan folded for 66 in 12.2 overs.
Nawaz finished with exceptional figures of 5/19 in four overs, while Abrar and Muqeem bagged two wickets apiece and Afridi chipped in with one.
Earlier, Pakistan struggled with the bat after choosing to bat first. Sahibzada Farhan fell for a duck to Fazalhaq Farooqi, but Saim Ayub (17) and Fakhar Zaman (27) added 49 runs for the second wicket. Pakistan lost momentum as Rashid Khan removed Fakhar and later Hasan Nawaz (15), while Noor Ahmad accounted for Saim and Mohammad Haris (2), leaving Pakistan 69-4.
A 40-run stand between skipper Salman Ali Agha (24) and Nawaz (25) stabilized the innings, pushing Pakistan past 100. However, late strikes from Rashid Khan (3/38), Farooqi (2/23), and Ghazanfar (1/20) restricted Pakistan to 141-8 in 20 overs.
Despite their modest total, Pakistan’s bowlers ensured it was more than enough, sealing a dominant win to claim the tri-series title.
