Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 66 runs in the third and final T20I series in Sharjah on Monday night, finishing the series 2-1 in Afghanistan’s favor after Rashid Khan’s squad won the first two matches.
Keen to avoid humiliation, Pakistan set a solid target of 182 runs after batting first. Afghanistan, who won the toss, elected to bowl first.
Batting first, Pakistan lost Mohammad Haris early for just one run. However, it was Saim Ayub, who pulled out all the stops for Pakistan as the 20-year-old scored 49 runs in 40 deliveries. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the highest wicket-taker for the side with two wickets to his name.
After an excellent showing with the bat, it was time for the Pakistan bowlers to replicate the same kind of performance with the ball as well and the relentless bowling by Pakistan proved too much to handle for Afghanistan in the end.
Afghanistan eventually bundled out for 116 runs. Pakistan’s skipper Shadab Khan was named Player of the Match for scoring 28 runs and taking three wickets.
However, Afghanistan later lifted the trophy with pride after a hard-earned victory over their neighboring rivals.
Taking to Twitter after the match, Afghanistan team captain Rashid Khan said: “WE DID IT!!! I am so proud of this team.”
“This win goes to all the people of Afghanistan and our fans around the world,” he said.
