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Opting to bat first, Afghanistan finished with 147/6.
In reply, Pakistan finished with 148/5 (19 overs).
11.05 pm: Asif Ali with a knock that is sure to instil fear in the heart of every bowler watching. Wow, just wow! He finishes the match with the fourth six of that Karim Janat over and remains unbeaten on 25 off 7. Heartbreak for Afghanistan who fought valiantly after losing four wickets in the powwrplay after opting to bat first. Pakistan have won three out of three!
Pakistan win by 5 wickets
PAK 142/5 after 18.4 overs: SIX! WOW! Asif Ali has turned the match on it’s head. This over has gone: 6, 0, 6, 0, 6. This time the right-hander whacks a full delivery straight over. Pakistan need 6 off 7.
PAK 136/5 after 18.3 overs: SIX! Asif Ali is doing it again! As he did against New Zealand, he’s powering his team towards victory. This time Janat bowls it slow and short and gets clobbered over deep mid-wicket. Pakistan need 12 off 9.
PAK 130/5 after 18.1 overs: SIX! Asif Ali goes deep in his crease and clears long-off with ease. Dream start to the 19th over for Pakistan. Janat missed his mark and got punished.
PAK 124/5 after 17.5 overs: OUT! Single, single, dot, dot, wicket! A sensational over from Naveen and Malik is gone! The right-hander chased a wide delivery and edged it to Shahzad. Afghanistan are right back in this, Pakistan need 24 off 13. The new batter is Shadab.
PAK 122/4 after 17 overs: OUT! What an over that was! Malik started it with a superb strike into the crowd, Naveen then dropped a straightforward catch off Babar’s bat, but Rashid finally got his man off the last ball. The Pakistan skipper tried to slog it but got clean bowled. He departs for 51 off 47. Rashid finishes with figures of 2/26 from his four overs. Pakistan need 26 off 18. Asif Ali is the new batter.
Rashid Khan has come on to bowl his final over. Crucial, crucial six deliveries coming up.
PAK 110/3 after 16 overs: Fifty for Babar! He gets there in 45 balls. This his third half-century in his last four T20Is. Malik, meanwhile, cuts a short and wide delivery from Janat for four. Pakistan need 38 off 24.
PAK 101/3 after 15 overs: Just four runs and a wicket, sensational stuff from Rashid. Pakistan need 47 off 30.
PAK 97/3 after 14.1 overs: OUT! Rashid Khan becomes the quickest man to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals! Mohammad Hafeez hits it to long-on and departs for 10 off 10. Shoaib Malik is the new batter.
PAK 97/2 after 14 overs: Nabi finishes with figures of 1/36 from his four overs. Pakistan need 51 off 36.
PAK 89/2 after 13 overs: Babar gets lucky, he throws his bat at it and picks up four past short third. The right-hander has struggled so far against Rashid. Pakistan need 59 off 42. Hafeez, at the other end, could quickly make a major impact for his team.
PAK 75/2 after 11.1 overs: OUT! Afghamistan get the breakthrough as Nabi traps Fakhar in front. DRS had saved Babar in the previous over but it doesn’t go Pakistan’s way this time. The left-hander attempted a sweep but lost his shape and missed the ball completely. He walks back for 30 off 25.
PAK 75/1 after 11 overs: Babar survives! Rashid struck him in front and the umpire raised his finger, but the review showed the ball missing leg. Huge moment in the game!
PAK 72/1 after 10 overs: Another classy shot from Babar! This time he plays an upper cut for four. Expensive over from Janat. Pakistan need 76 off 60.
Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman bring up their fifty-run stand. Pakistan need 86 off 66.
PAK 62/1 after 9 overs: And right on cue, Babar gets a move on in style! He plays a gorgeous drive over extra-cover for four and picks up another boundary with a late cut. Expensive over from Naveen.
PAK 49/1 after 8 overs: Right-arm pacer Karim Janat joins the attack and bowls a good over, just five runs come from it. Babar Azam needs to get a move on, he’s batting on 15 off 21. Pakistan need 99 off 72.
Worrying signs for Afghanistan as Mujeeb has walked off the field injured after finishing his spell.
PAK 44/1 after 7 overs: Mujeeb finishes with fantastic figures of 1/14 from his four overs. He was tasked with bowling his entire spell first up and he didn’t give Pakistan an inch.
PAK 38/1 after 6 overs: Right-arm pacer Naveen joins the attack and drifts onto the pads, Zaman flicks it nicely past short-fine for four. That’s the end of the powerplay. Both teams are still very much in this.
PAK 31/1 after 5 overs: Another top over from Mujeeb, just two singles from it. Pakistan need 117 off 90.
PAK 29/1 after 4 overs: Big over! Zaman goes for a slog and just about clears mid-wicket to get four. The left-hander follows that up with a huge six over long-on. Nabi is struggling to find the right length.
PAK 12/1 after 2.3 overs: OUT! Mujeeb gets Rizwan early! The right-hander sweeps it straight to deep backward square. Fakhar Zaman is the new batter. Afghanistan are pumped!
PAK 11/0 after 2 overs: Four! Nabi does well to concede just four singles in the first five balls but the last one is on leg and Rizwan sweeps it over short fine.
PAK 3/0 after 1 over: Solid start from Mujeeb, just three runs from it. A good powerplay for Afghanistan here will put Pakistan under serious pressure.
9.26 pm: Mujeeb to start things off for Afghanistan. Babar and Rizwan at the crease. Pakistan need 148 to win. Here we go!
Afghanistan finish with 147/6
Good final over from Shaheen, just seven runs from it. But that was a fantastic recovery from Mohammad Nabi and Co! The skipper (35 off 32) added an unbeaten partnership of 71 runs with Gulbadin Naib (35 off 25). Pakistan leaked 43 runs in the last 3 overs.
AFG 140/6 after 19 overs: Another huge over! This time Nabi picks up two fours and Gulbadin adds another. Rauf was all over the place in that over. This has been a phenomenal recovery by Afghanistan! A strong finish here will put them in a great position. Shaheen to bowl the last over.
AFG 125/6 after 18 overs: 6, 4, 2, 2, 4, 1 NB, 1. Gulbadin Naib goes after Hasan Ali and gives #AFG the over they needed. Brilliant batting from the right-hander. This partnership has added 49 runs in just 35 balls.
AFG 104/6 after 17 overs: Brilliant over from Rauf, just three runs from it. Afghanistan need three big overs to give their bowling attack a total to work with.
AFG 101/6 after 16 overs: Shaheen pitches one on the pads and Gulbadin clips it for four. The ball absolutely blazed away to the fence. Shadab with a fantastic spot at point after that. Afghanistan are getting the boundaries and moving along at a decent pace.
AFG 93/6 after 15 overs: Shot! Hasan makes the same mistake that Haris did in the previous over – a full, slower ball outside off – and Nabi plays another drive over cover for four.
AFG 86/6 after 14 overs: Good over for Afghanistan! Haris Rauf returns to the attack for his second over and Mohammad Nabi picks up two boundaries. The first one was with a thick outside edge and the next one was a glorious front foot drive over cover.
Najibullah Zadran got 22 off 21, the highest score by an Afghan batter so far in the match.
AFG 76/6 after 12.5 overs: SIX & OUT! Najib edges it and Rizwan takes a fine catch. Shadab deserved that wicket, he’s bowled a top spell tonight. Gulbadin Naib is the new batter.
AFG 67/5 after 12 overs: Hasan returns to the attack and bowls a tight over. He didn’t offer much width to the left-handed Najib and mixed his lengths up well.
The new batter is skipper Mohammad Nabi.
AFG 64/5 after 9.1 overs: OUT! Karim Janat (15 off 17) mistimes a sweep off Imad Wasim and this time Fakhar Zaman takes the catch. Afghanistan have lost half their side in the 10th over.
AFG 64/4 after 9 overs: Two boundaries for Najib in that Shadab over! The left-hander plays a reverse-sweep for four before ending the over with a pull that pierces the gap.
AFG 55/4 after 8 overs: Good over from Imad, just four runs from it. Janat and Najib are showing a lot more patience than the earlier batters.
AFG 51/4 after 7 overs: Shadab joins the attack and bowls a good over, just two runs come from it. Imad is returning to the attack after bowling an expensive second over earlier.
AFG 49/4 after 6 overs: Janat clips one for four before Najib ends the over with a boundary past point. Successful but expensive over from Hasan. That’s the end of the powerplay. Afghanistan have got runs on the board but they’ve lost way too many wickets.
AFG 39/4 after 5.1 overs: OUT! Hasan Ali strikes with his first ball! Gurbaz tries to pull it all the way but gets caught by Babar. Afghanistan are in deep trouble. The new batter is Najib.
AFG 39/3 after 5 overs: SIX! What a shot! Janat gets off the mark in style with a Sachin-like upper cut for six. Haris matched Nortje for the fastest delivery in that over.
AFG 33/3 after 4.3 overs: OUT! Afghanistan were starting to build momentum but they have been pegged back again. Haris Rauf accepts the return catch and Asghar Afghan (10 off 7) is on his way. Karim Janat is the new batter.
AFG 26/2 after 4 overs: Huge over for Afghanistan! Two sixes and a four! Gurbaz kicks things off with a sweep all the way. The sound of the ball meeting the bat when he played that shot was... delicious! The 19-year-old then survives a run-out after a mix-up. Afghan follows that up with a pull for six and a four past short-fine to end the over. Poor bowling from Imad.
AFG 13/2 after 2.4 overs: OUT! Shaheen wins his battle with Shahzad (8 off 9)! The right-hander hit a four earlier in the over but finds mid-on this time. Afghanistan have lost both their openers inside three overs. The new batter is Asghar Afghan.
AFG 7/1 after 1.3 overs: OUT! Imad Wasim strikes with the new ball and Hazratullah Zazai is gone for a five-ball duck. The left-hander attempted a slog but got a top edge. Good catch from Haris Rauf at short third. The new batter is 19-year-old Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
AFG 5/0 after 1 over: Fiery start from Shaheen! The left-arm pacer hits the 90 mph mark immediately and wraps Zazai on the pads a couple of times. Babar takes a review for LBW off the sixth ball and the replay shows impact outside leg.
7.29 pm: The anthems are done, we’re ready for play in Dubai! Afghanistan have opted to bat first and have their task cut out against a potent Pakistan attack. Here we go!
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (w), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Toss:
Nabi has won the toss and Afghanistan will bat first.
6.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Super 12 Group 2 match between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Dubai.