Pakistan [230/7] defeat Afghanistan [227/9] in a thrilling run chase to keep semi-final hopes alive

[Chokli]

They don't deserve anything

 

[Loralai]

No need to feel sorry for them. We played the better cricket and won. They pushed us all the way and credit to them.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Just compare this match with Australia vs Pakistan. Pakistan gave just one sniff to Australia by gifting a wicket to Finch. They grabbed it with both hands. Over here Pakistan gave several chances for Afghanistan to come back. Nope they refused to accept it. Granted few decisions went against them. Inspite of all that match was theirs to lose in the last 5 overs.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

My heart

 

[jnaveen1980]

It is a cycle. Experienced teams punish the errors of less experienced team. Australia punished Pakistan. Pakistan punished Afghanistan.

 

[IMMY69]

No many teams would have chased down that total with ease.. not on that wicket and against decent spinners

 

[Sirris]

A rather ugly win. Still glad about it.

 

[Da_Future_Knick]

Read somewhere that 10 Afghanistan supporters ran onto the field right after the match was over. Any truth to this?

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

What do you expect from a 6th ranked team that has played like minnows for two years? We are closer in level to the likes of Afghanistan than teams like India, England etc., whom we can only beat by fluke. However, today, we had to fluke a win against Afghanistan as well.

This is a new low for Pakistan cricket. Probably the most humiliating victory in our history.

Forgot the Asia Cup game?

Malik was gifted deliveries on the legside by either Gulbadein or Aftab Alam.

It's a second escape which means we will lose in the coming years. We avoided losses against BD as well before becoming their hitting bag.

 

[Mueez]

Pakistan escapes.

What a thriller.

Imad Wasim played his best knock till now.

 

[pakistani pride]

Are people for real?

The team won 3 games in a row at the WC. They have raised their game. Won 2 matches, 2 very tensed matches while CHASING. Yes chasing. In the WC there are no easy matches. Prime examples are SL vs ENG and Ind vs Afg.

I find it so sorry for certain people to still moan and cry after PAK came back like tigers this WC.

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!

 

[Mamoon]

Forgot the Asia Cup game?

Malik was gifted deliveries on the legside by either Gulbadein or Aftab Alam.

It's a second escape which means we will lose in the coming years. We avoided losses against BD as well before becoming their hitting bag.

This is worse because it was in a World Cup. However, the one in Asia Cup was humiliating as well.

 

[Ahmed_99]

I was disappointed with the amount of extras as well as the easy singles we conceded. That was really frustrating since it allowed the Afghanistan batsmen to settle making it tougher to pick up wickets. Because of these factors we had to chase 20 odd runs more which nearly proved to be the difference but so glad that Imad saw us home with Wahab

 

[Da_Future_Knick]

This is worse because it was in a World Cup. However, the one in Asia Cup was humiliating as well.

Bro give it a rest. Pakistan beat England, NZ and SA and you’re still here complaining. India took AFG to the last over as well.

There is so such thing as an easy game in this format of the WC.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

No many teams would have chased down that total with ease.. not on that wicket and against decent spinners

You really believe that? I would like to, but can't imagine England or Australia having much trouble. Other than that though, it was a really weak performance with the ball as well. Pakistan got very lucky to take the first couple of wickets with bad balls, because we had been bowling garbage before that.

Pakistan got out of jail today, but at the end of the day at least the lower order showed some character to get over the line. They deserve some credit for that.

 

[pakistani pride]

Well look at it the other way. If it had happened to Pakistan I would’ve been devastated

Well of course but IFS and buts dont exist. Imad and Wahab stayed ice cool and won the game. That was the difference.

Rashid failed and Imad took the game, thats the difference.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I get what you are saying bro but being jammy regularly isn't quite luck of the champions. Who knows though? The parallels with 92 are eerie.

Sure, you cant be winning like this again and again. I just think we have to appreciate the extreme pressure on Imad, Shadab and Wahab. Their batsmen failed but left up to them to cross the line, which they did pretty well. If Pak reach semis this victory will help them in any similar chase, may not win again but it will help.

 

[UP]

After the humiliating loss against India and on the brink of an elimination, forced back to the wall, had to win all games, abused, people angry at them, media angry at them, criticism upon criticism, personal attacks on them, mentally shot - despite all this crap, players roared back and gave a shut up call to all who were after their necks. This shows how mentally strong they are.

Imagine you are being abused and being made fun off in front of the whole world and you rise up. Imagine that feeling!

Hats off to these lads.

 

[imran1976]

What do you expect from a 6th ranked team that has played like minnows for two years? We are closer in level to the likes of Afghanistan than teams like India, England etc., whom we can only beat by fluke. However, today, we had to fluke a win against Afghanistan as well.

This is a new low for Pakistan cricket. Probably the most humiliating victory in our history.

eys pindo kadi khair di khabar nai Aai ......

 

[barah_admi]

They outplayed Pakistan but were extremely unlucky with the umpiring decisions. They should hold their heads high, but their captain is a numpty.

I have often made an example of not replying to your posts but this is utter rubbish.

Afghanistan played well by their standards but Pakistan obviously outplayed them, hence the win. The batting was better, the bowling was better, the catching was better and the ground fielding was better.

What was unlucky exactly? Afghanistan themselves dropped chances, missed run outs and allowed singles into doubles.

I assume you will start posting that England, nz and South Africa were also unlucky right?

Pakistan can't win, they just wait for the opposition to lose. I hope this makes you happy

 

[Arham_PakFan]

The performance with the bat today wasn't very good. Especially Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman. But our lower order came through and we won.

But we obviously played better than Afghanistan. That is why we won.

Also, I don't get why people feed the troll.

 

[Afhan Ali]

I have a question why hot favorite and rank no 1 England lost to Sri lanka which is a poor team than Afghanistan

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

This was a good opportunity to better their NRR and go past Desh, now that match vs them is a must win even if Eng lose both it's games.

 

[KingKhanWC]

You really believe that? I would like to, but can't imagine England or Australia having much trouble. Other than that though, it was a really weak performance with the ball as well. Pakistan got very lucky to take the first couple of wickets with bad balls, because we had been bowling garbage before that.

Pakistan got out of jail today, but at the end of the day at least the lower order showed some character to get over the line. They deserve some credit for that.

The ball was spitting, turning and bouncing due to the heat on the wicket. Any team would have found it tough to chase the runs down. Nabi, Mujeed and even Rashid looked impossible to play at times but our batsmen made some poor decisions. The game should have been won by 4/5 wickets not with tail seeing us through.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

I have a question why hot favorite and rank no 1 England lost to Sri lanka which is a poor team than Afghanistan

No

 

[Afhan Ali]

Umpires decision can go either way.

In CT09 semi final between pak vs Nz
Umar Akmal was given out incorrectly when he was well set on 52
That is sports one day you will be lucky other day you will be unlucky

 

[Mamoon]

I have often made an example of not replying to your posts but this is utter rubbish.

Afghanistan played well by their standards but Pakistan obviously outplayed them, hence the win. The batting was better, the bowling was better, the catching was better and the ground fielding was better.

What was unlucky exactly? Afghanistan themselves dropped chances, missed run outs and allowed singles into doubles.

I assume you will start posting that England, nz and South Africa were also unlucky right?

Pakistan can't win, they just wait for the opposition to lose. I hope this makes you happy

Your rant is emotional but devoid of facts. Imad was plum LBW but the umpire didn’t give out, and unfortunately, Afghanistan didn’t have a review. We didn’t bat or bowl better than them - we just had better luck with the umpires, and their captain had a complete stinker.

 

[Afhan Ali]

No

They are not better than Afghanistan now a days
Afghan bowling> sri lanka bowling
Afghan batting < sri lanka batting

 

[angeldsoul]

Your rant is emotional but devoid of facts. Imad was plum LBW but the umpire didn’t give out, and unfortunately, Afghanistan didn’t have a review. We didn’t bat or bowl better than them - we just had better luck with the umpires, and their captain had a complete stinker.

Let's give poor Afghanistan 6 reviews
Their fault they used it on silly one!!
So did we but in the endvtyrse things even out....

 

[Artaxerxes]

Pakistan batting line up is not very strong.The batsmen lack application on tricky pitches.We need to find a couple of good batsmen who can hang around if the situation demands but who can also score quickly.A good all rounder is missing too.Funny things can happen in cricket.England cound't chase 233 against a fairly weak Sri Lankan attack.England bat very deep and it also has good all rounders.

 

[zee-za-man]

Shame on Fakhar, Hafeez, Harris, Sarfaraz, Babar and Imam for their pathetic performances.

Pakistani fans who came to support them were beaten black and blue inside and outside the stadium by Afghan hooligans. Shameless Sarfaraz's batting just needed to do their job for those who came to back them.

This was'nt a must win only it was a facesave for those fans who would've been humiliated who came all the way for them.

Just imagine what Afghhans and Indians would've done to them on their way out if Pakistan had lost. No one would ever come to support Pakistan team again.

Hope PCB wakes up and throw these bums out in the batting lineup who are just humiliation for the country as well its fans.

Now I hope England wins, they have more character and value their country more than these mafia selected leeches like Hafeez, Imam, Babar and Malik.

 

[angeldsoul]

Mamoon has blinkers on when it comes to England deficiencies
To be honest England's predicament is 10 times more
Embarrassing than pak they are the number 1 unbeatable te
am lolol

 

[zee-za-man]

Pakistan batting line up is not very strong.The batsmen lack application on tricky pitches.We need to find a couple of good batsmen who can hang around if the situation demands but who can also score quickly.A good all rounder is missing too.Funny things can happen in cricket.England cound't chase 233 against a fairly weak Sri Lankan attack.England bat very deep and it also has good all rounders.

This is not batting they are mental midgets and cowards. They have played on similar kind of pitches thruout the year inUAE, it was similar pitch as in Abu Dhabi. Really ashamed this is the experience and the top XI of 200 million people. There are small clubs in Lahore, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Karachi who have 22-23 year old players with better mental strength and technique than Hafeezs and Maliks.

Hafeez should be sent home for his part in collapses thruout the World Cup series.

 

[Firebat]

Hostility. Fear factor. Control. Wicket-taking ability.

Everything a potential ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 champion team could wish to possess from a pace attack, Pakistan’s resurgent side have in abundance.

It is little wonder Sarfaraz Ahmed’s outfit are given endless raucous support from their army of fans when they have fast-bowling trio Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi and Wahab Riaz to swoon over.

On a day of glorious sunshine at Headingley, a sea of green banged their drums, blew their horns and generally made a cacophony of noise as improving Pakistan chalked up their third straight victory in the competition with a nail-biting three-wicket win in a cliffhanger of an encounter with Afghanistan.

“It was a great win for us,” Sarfaraz said at the presentation ceremony. “Thank you all the fans, they cheered every ball.”

The Afghans elected to bat after winning the toss and the fever-pitch atmosphere in the stands proceeded to reach a crescendo at the fall of every wicket.

Even close calls were greeted by ear-splitting “ooohhhs” and “ahhhhs” from the Pakistan throng who heavily outnumbered the opposition fans.

The apple of the crowd’s eye on this occasion turned out to be 19-year-old quickie Shaheen, who grabbed the spotlight by picking up 4/47 from his 10 overs.

Wahab provided good back-up with 2/29 from his eight overs while the Afghan batsmen took on Amir at their peril as the third member of the gifted trio of left-armers registered tidy figures of 0/41 from his full compliment of 10 overs.

It is hard to imagine a better three-pronged pace attack in this World Cup and the statistics lend weight to the theory.

Amir has bagged 16 wickets in seven matches at an impressive economy rate of 4.95. The 6-foot-6 Afridi is not far behind in the frugality stakes, having claimed 10 victims at 5.23 while Wahab’s 10 wickets have come at a rate of 6.15.

Afghanistan’s batsmen lasted the full 50 overs for the first time in this competition but their eventual total of 227/9 appeared well below par.

However, it is never wise to predict the predictable when it comes to the Pakistan cricket team, and the rank outsiders were leaping and dancing in delight when Sarfaraz was run out for 18 to leave his side staring defeat in the face at 156/6 and with 10 overs remaining.

The Pakistanis rarely seem to wear the tag of favourites well and it was then a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man as Imad Wasim rode to the rescue with a match-winning 49 not out, the game’s top score.

The turning point came when Asghar Afghan failed to get under a skier at extra cover off Imad and the middle-order batsman made him pay by smashing 18 runs in the same 46th over bowled by skipper Gulbadin Naib.

By the time six runs were needed off the final six balls, victory for Pakistan was pretty much assured.

“We knew it was not an easy target,” said Sarfaraz. “Their bowlers used the conditions very well. Everyone chipped in for us, it was good team work.”

For Afghanistan, it was another close run thing against Pakistan comparable to their heartbreaking last-over, three-wicket defeat against the same team at last year’s Asia Cup.

"We fought really well, the boys gave 100 per cent but in the end we missed an opportunity to win the match,” said a disappointed Gulbadin.

“Credit to Pakistan, they controlled their nerves. We missed out again. You can face a lot of these situations but we are working harder and harder. The matches we have lost, we have improved.

"We didn't score enough. To win these sort of matches we need someone to get 80, 90, 100."

 

[nads_rocks]

Am I the only one who is not really happy with scraping wins like this in crunch moments.
Win is a win is all I am getting from alot of people.
Yes Win is a win but come on when you know you need 228 to get you have 300 balls to get it in, most teams would instill fear and attack and chase this piece of cake total by the 37th over.

Winning by 3 wickets and 2 balls to spare against a team who have lost all their 7 matches, the same spinners that got taken apart for 397 runs against a non-asian team.

Todays win was a shameful shambolic one.

I aint going to hold back. I have been a passionate pakistan cricket fan since forever. But I am not going to ignore that their are lots of weaknesses, lot of cowardly approach and this senior garbage is doing more damage to this team than good.

Give Pakistan a belting batting wicket - They are under pressure.
Bouncy wicket - They are under pressure
Spin wicket - Asian team best players of spin but fall to spinners and can't buy a run.
Bowler friendly wicket - They are under pressure.

The pitch equation does not even come in to place because as an international standard player, a superior cricketing nation if you let a 4 required run rate creep to 8 then you should hang your head in shame.

If this was a spin friendly slow dry pitch then why did shadab only take 1 wicket and Shaheen took 4 and Wahab 2 out of the 9 afghan wickets.

Whereas Afghans spinners took 5 wickets out of the 7

Pakistan are the only team who in every tournament start losing and then depend on other teams results and points to go through. That is a cowardly approach one that they have to stop doing.

Australia India New Zealand do not have to rely on wins and points they do it themselves so why is Pakistan always under pressure whether batting first or chasing in every game?

Every team is playing each other on these pitches and they don't seem to be crumbling or being under pressure.

This was Afghanistan, if you want to be in the top 4 you have to earn it you have to deserve it, playing cowardly childish amateurish cricket is not going to instill fear in other teams for the semi's.

Its all about the intent and confidence. Chase 228 with 8 wickets and 10-12 overs left then you see a rejuvenated team.

Chase it cowardly with wickets tumbling, win predictions going afghans way and then snatching the win with 2 balls left is a mental cowardly approach.

Congratulations on the win but I am not at all convinced this is a world cup winning team let alone one that deserves to be in the top 4.

 

[Obaidd]

Who ‘deserves’ what is a very subjective question. However, poor performance by some batters.
Fakhar only 1 fifty in the wc
Imam poor shot
Hafeez poor shot
Sarf there was never a double
Shadab’s runout was also very avoidable

 

[shaaik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to you all, best supporters ever! <br>Hats off you <a href="https://twitter.com/simadwasim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@simadwasim</a> for leading us towards victory. Alhamdulillah. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeHaveWeWill?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeHaveWeWill</a> <a href="https://t.co/hETgbulk0V">pic.twitter.com/hETgbulk0V</a></p>— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) <a href="https://twitter.com/WahabViki/status/1145036135187537922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MRSN]

No many teams would have chased down that total with ease.. not on that wicket and against decent spinners

Actually most top teams would have with an ease. It was more of brainless batting than any extraordinary bowling. It was a belter of a pitch.

 

[angeldsoul]

Am I the only one who is not really happy with scraping wins like this in crunch moments.
Win is a win is all I am getting from alot of people.
Yes Win is a win but come on when you know you need 228 to get you have 300 balls to get it in, most teams would instill fear and attack and chase this piece of cake total by the 37th over.

Winning by 3 wickets and 2 balls to spare against a team who have lost all their 7 matches, the same spinners that got taken apart for 397 runs against a non-asian team.

Todays win was a shameful shambolic one.

I aint going to hold back. I have been a passionate pakistan cricket fan since forever. But I am not going to ignore that their are lots of weaknesses, lot of cowardly approach and this senior garbage is doing more damage to this team than good.

Give Pakistan a belting batting wicket - They are under pressure.
Bouncy wicket - They are under pressure
Spin wicket - Asian team best players of spin but fall to spinners and can't buy a run.
Bowler friendly wicket - They are under pressure.

The pitch equation does not even come in to place because as an international standard player, a superior cricketing nation if you let a 4 required run rate creep to 8 then you should hang your head in shame.

If this was a spin friendly slow dry pitch then why did shadab only take 1 wicket and Shaheen took 4 and Wahab 2 out of the 9 afghan wickets.

Whereas Afghans spinners took 5 wickets out of the 7

Pakistan are the only team who in every tournament start losing and then depend on other teams results and points to go through. That is a cowardly approach one that they have to stop doing.

Australia India New Zealand do not have to rely on wins and points they do it themselves so why is Pakistan always under pressure whether batting first or chasing in every game?

Every team is playing each other on these pitches and they don't seem to be crumbling or being under pressure.

This was Afghanistan, if you want to be in the top 4 you have to earn it you have to deserve it, playing cowardly childish amateurish cricket is not going to instill fear in other teams for the semi's.

Its all about the intent and confidence. Chase 228 with 8 wickets and 10-12 overs left then you see a rejuvenated team.

Chase it cowardly with wickets tumbling, win predictions going afghans way and then snatching the win with 2 balls left is a mental cowardly approach.

Congratulations on the win but I am not at all convinced this is a world cup winning team let alone one that deserves to be in the top 4.

Are you crazy?
The wicket turned into spinners paradise as sun bakes down on dry wicket!! If we had won the toss and batted first it would have been game over for Afghanistan...England woujdmt have chased that today on this pitch

 

[MRSN]

Am I the only one who is not really happy with scraping wins like this in crunch moments.
Win is a win is all I am getting from alot of people.
Yes Win is a win but come on when you know you need 228 to get you have 300 balls to get it in, most teams would instill fear and attack and chase this piece of cake total by the 37th over.

Winning by 3 wickets and 2 balls to spare against a team who have lost all their 7 matches, the same spinners that got taken apart for 397 runs against a non-asian team.

Todays win was a shameful shambolic one.

I aint going to hold back. I have been a passionate pakistan cricket fan since forever. But I am not going to ignore that their are lots of weaknesses, lot of cowardly approach and this senior garbage is doing more damage to this team than good.

Give Pakistan a belting batting wicket - They are under pressure.
Bouncy wicket - They are under pressure
Spin wicket - Asian team best players of spin but fall to spinners and can't buy a run.
Bowler friendly wicket - They are under pressure.

The pitch equation does not even come in to place because as an international standard player, a superior cricketing nation if you let a 4 required run rate creep to 8 then you should hang your head in shame.

If this was a spin friendly slow dry pitch then why did shadab only take 1 wicket and Shaheen took 4 and Wahab 2 out of the 9 afghan wickets.

Whereas Afghans spinners took 5 wickets out of the 7

Pakistan are the only team who in every tournament start losing and then depend on other teams results and points to go through. That is a cowardly approach one that they have to stop doing.

Australia India New Zealand do not have to rely on wins and points they do it themselves so why is Pakistan always under pressure whether batting first or chasing in every game?

Every team is playing each other on these pitches and they don't seem to be crumbling or being under pressure.

This was Afghanistan, if you want to be in the top 4 you have to earn it you have to deserve it, playing cowardly childish amateurish cricket is not going to instill fear in other teams for the semi's.

Its all about the intent and confidence. Chase 228 with 8 wickets and 10-12 overs left then you see a rejuvenated team.

Chase it cowardly with wickets tumbling, win predictions going afghans way and then snatching the win with 2 balls left is a mental cowardly approach.

Congratulations on the win but I am not at all convinced this is a world cup winning team let alone one that deserves to be in the top 4.

Totally agree. Thoroughly unprofessional and pathetic chase. Kudds to Imad,Shadab and Wahab for bailing us out. Also Afghan captain and some poor umpiring. Big thanks to them as well. This would have been top of my list for most awful losses by Pak team.

 

[MRSN]

Are you crazy?
The wicket turned into spinners paradise as sun bakes down on dry wicket!! If we had won the toss and batted first it would have been game over for Afghanistan...England woujdmt have chased that today on this pitch

If it was the case Pak could never chase 70 in 10 overs. All of our batsmen got out due to poor shots and laziness. Pitch had no demons in it.

 

[MRSN]

Your rant is emotional but devoid of facts. Imad was plum LBW but the umpire didn’t give out, and unfortunately, Afghanistan didn’t have a review. We didn’t bat or bowl better than them - we just had better luck with the umpires, and their captain had a complete stinker.

Agreed. Too much passion passion going on. Fact is Pakistan was horrible today. Should have chased professionally without any hiccups. Any other team would have killed the game when we needed 70 odd and Imad and Shadab were batting. Brainless captaincy, fielding and poor umpiring bailed us out.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Law of averages. Pakistan were due a bad game after a string of good performances (dominant mind you). However in the next game I’d drop fakhar for Abid possibly as fakhar hasn’t done much.

 

[nads_rocks]

Totally agree. Thoroughly unprofessional and pathetic chase. Kudds to Imad,Shadab and Wahab for bailing us out. Also Afghan captain and some poor umpiring. Big thanks to them as well. This would have been top of my list for most awful losses by Pak team.

I have genuinely in this world cup really fallen out with some close friends because of my view points and my opinions.
We should look at reality and keep passion and support aside. Appreciate good cricket from other teams who are winning their games on their own hardwork and effort and not being given hand outs.

This is probably the first time since forever that I have no belief or confidence in Pakistan team even we have beaten Eng a depleted South Africa New Zealand and Afghans?

How did we start the tournament cannot be forgiven or forgotten.

105 all out against a team that is lingering at the bottom 3.
Beat England (JUST) by 14 runs - not a great win by any means despite scoring a big total they still came close.
Washout against Sri Lanka
Lost against India by big margin actually not lost but SCHOOLED!
Bear a depleted south africa who really havnt been a team to be proud of.
Beat New Zealand again scraped by that win too chasing a low total.
Today - Won but like cowards!

Bangladesh are far superior in terms of experience, their spin bowlers are going to kill us worser than the Afghans and they are a much improved batting side too, they can't be taken lightly but we carry on like we will now cruise through and beat anyone in our way.

Not the way this team is playing their cricket, this instills no fear on other teams and we bat like headless chickens out there lost in a field.

Only 5 players out of the whole squad are doing their nation proud and deserve to wear that jersey

Babar
Amir
Wahab
Shaheen
Haris
To an extent Imad but not always

That is not a team that deserves the top 4 on other results nor does it deserve to lift a world cup.

Today we should have schooled Afghans and taken them apart in the first 10 overs!

 

[BlackThunder]

With Pakistan unable to put dent into their run rate means your only realistic hope to qualify is India defeating England. The way the Kiwis are playing its almost certain England will steamroll roll them.

 

[nads_rocks]

Are you crazy?
The wicket turned into spinners paradise as sun bakes down on dry wicket!! If we had won the toss and batted first it would have been game over for Afghanistan...England woujdmt have chased that today on this pitch

But we are the best players of spin?
Is not that much of a turner that an international player cannot find 3-4 singles an over or hit a boundary or there.
It was a easy 228 total one that should never have creeped up at 8rpo and won with 2 balls left...

This is an Asian team that has played on turning wickets their whole lives!

Why did Shaheen and Wahav take 6 wickets between them and Shadab our spinner take 1 wicket and Imad not really a spinner take 2.

Eevry pitch turns different for Pakistan somehow.

Think these pitch excuses are getting ott now.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

I think I'm aging every match we play....

Great fight. Terrible performance but winning is what counts.

Imad and Wahab are real fighters.

 

[nads_rocks]

Law of averages. Pakistan were due a bad game after a string of good performances (dominant mind you). However in the next game I’d drop fakhar for Abid possibly as fakhar hasn’t done much.

Abid isnt in the squad. Asif Ali can come down late order.
Hasnain can replace Hafeez

 

[naddo]

Apologies as an occasional poster only. I do very much enjoy reading the discussions though.

For me as a 35 year follower of Pakistan this was one of the great wins.

The reason this is being downplayed is because it was "only" Afghanistan. Had that been one of the higher rated teams this would be lauded to the heavans.

At 156-6 with rashid khan bowling to Imad who couldnt read him and plenty of overs of spin in the bank on a turner with the pressure of a chase in a do or die game the writing was on the wall.

I am privately often critical of Pakistan but I have to say what a response from Imad, Shadab and Wahab.

The bravery alone of Wahab deserves special mention.

I have no idea what happens next (probaby nobody does!) - but for today Pakistan Zindabad!!!

 

[Britstani]

If we stick to cricket knowledge and not emotions, the toss was a massive factor on this pitch, with Afghanistan having mostly a all out quality spin attack it was always going to be difficult to chase down a score over 220, yes we played some bad cricket and some decisions went our way, but at the end we dug in and won that's what matters, that's Cricket for you...

 

[sagheer08]

Terrible batting by Pakistan. Bowling and fielding (surprisingly) wasn't too bad. That was a narrow escape. How can you throw away wickets like that, looking at you Hafeez? It was an ok captaincy by Sarfaraz. If you think otherwise, you're probably deluded

I have been watching and playing cricket all my life. The first match I remember was Pakistan win against Eng in 92' WC final. Gone are the days where I will be SURE Pak would win against minnows. I think not playing in their home is hurting Pakistan's mentality and growth. Now Afghans are giving us scars. Alas

 

[PakLFC]

Was a very poor batting performance. From the run outs to poor shot selection we seemed all over the place right from the start. Again Babar gives his wicket away when he was set to score a match winning innings. This is why he is not world class. It was an okay effort keeping Afghanistan down to to 230 or something that should have been easily chased. We can lose to Afghanistan then defeat Australia the next, that is Pakistan for you. Imad raised his hand today to play a match winning innings, he was composed throughout and did not panic unlike those before him.

 

[Green Patriot]

We played horribly today.Allowed a terrible Afghani batting lineup to score more than they should have and messed up a really important run chase which shouldnt have been difficult with a bit of planning and understanding.
But we were better than the opposition under pressure and escaped narrowly.
And i am honestly glad that we won because i am sick of the arrogance and violence displayed by some Afghanis against Pakistan and it was time to avenge that.Would have been too humiliating otherwise.

 

[sagheer08]

I have genuinely in this world cup really fallen out with some close friends because of my view points and my opinions.
We should look at reality and keep passion and support aside. Appreciate good cricket from other teams who are winning their games on their own hardwork and effort and not being given hand outs.

This is probably the first time since forever that I have no belief or confidence in Pakistan team even we have beaten Eng a depleted South Africa New Zealand and Afghans?

How did we start the tournament cannot be forgiven or forgotten.

105 all out against a team that is lingering at the bottom 3.
Beat England (JUST) by 14 runs - not a great win by any means despite scoring a big total they still came close.
Washout against Sri Lanka
Lost against India by big margin actually not lost but SCHOOLED!
Bear a depleted south africa who really havnt been a team to be proud of.
Beat New Zealand again scraped by that win too chasing a low total.
Today - Won but like cowards!

Bangladesh are far superior in terms of experience, their spin bowlers are going to kill us worser than the Afghans and they are a much improved batting side too, they can't be taken lightly but we carry on like we will now cruise through and beat anyone in our way.

Not the way this team is playing their cricket, this instills no fear on other teams and we bat like headless chickens out there lost in a field.

Only 5 players out of the whole squad are doing their nation proud and deserve to wear that jersey

Babar
Amir
Wahab
Shaheen
Haris
To an extent Imad but not always

That is not a team that deserves the top 4 on other results nor does it deserve to lift a world cup.

Today we should have schooled Afghans and taken them apart in the first 10 overs!

I kinda agree with you except the part on England match. First that match was not even that close. Pak played REALLY well and scorecard doesn't really reflect that. They gave freebies in last 2 overs if I remember correctly and that has dented Pakistan's NRR.

And don't even get me started on Windies match. I have no answer. All I can say is that it was a fluke or at east hope it was.

As far as Bangla match is concerned. I am not too sure. On paper they might have won last 4 matches or so but head to head record speaks otherwise. I honestly don't care but they don't strike fear. On the other hand Pak does strike fear. I think they have improved a lot but still its not going to be a cakewalk for Pak. I still think it would be relatively easy but tricky match for Pak

 

[PakLFC]

We played horribly today.Allowed a terrible Afghani batting lineup to score more than they should have and messed up a really important run chase which shouldnt have been difficult with a bit of planning and understanding.
But we were better than the opposition under pressure and escaped narrowly.
And i am honestly glad that we won because i am sick of the arrogance and violence displayed by some Afghanis against Pakistan and it was time to avenge that.Would have been too humiliating otherwise.

What have they got to be arrogant about? I think you mean their frustration over Pak throwing out their people and not backing their government. "Afghan Taliban Zindabad" is my answer to them!

 

[Green Patriot]

What have they got to be arrogant about? I think you mean their frustration over Pak throwing out their people and not backing their government. "Afghan Taliban Zindabad" is my answer to them!

I do not know what could be the reason behind their arrogance, but they are ,considering the claims made by their cricket chief and the video in which their fans were claiming that they would crush Pakistan today.

 

[PakLFC]

I do not know what could be the reason behind their arrogance, but they are ,considering the claims made by their cricket chief and the video in which their fans were claiming that they would crush Pakistan today.

That comment was anger not arrogance! Now all Afghan's will be licking their wounds including that man! Arrogance is when a community or country consider themselves to be better in term of achievement then the opponent! Afghanistan is a joke of a country under occupation for 20 years with millions of their refugee's living in Pak even India and Iran!!

 

[PakHammer]

Kudos to Imad, not my favourite player in the least but he kept his cool in that tense chase.

Hopefully that's our bad performance out of the way and can play with more confidence against Bangladesh.

Iman and Farkhar need to pull their socks up too.

 

[Green Patriot]

That comment was anger not arrogance! Now all Afghan's will be licking their wounds including that man! Arrogance is when a community or country consider themselves to be better in term of achievement then the opponent! Afghanistan is a joke of a country under occupation for 20 years with millions of their refugee's living in Pak even India and Iran!!

To me its arrogance.
Doesnt have to be with reason.People can be unnecessarily arrogant and it comes to bite them in the a$$ because karma.

 

[PakLFC]

To me its arrogance.
Doesnt have to be with reason.People can be unnecessarily arrogant and it comes to bite them in the a$$ because karma.

Well if it was arrogance then he's ain't arrogant no more!!!))) Enjoy the flight back to Kabul boys assuming you have an airport there

 

[asadee]

They outplayed Pakistan but were extremely unlucky with the umpiring decisions. They should hold their heads high, but their captain is a numpty.

Rashids lbw was umpires call so that went their way. You really are a sore loser man

 

[the_game]

Rashids lbw was umpires call so that went their way. You really are a sore loser man

 

[BDfanforever]

It is a cycle. Experienced teams punish the errors of less experienced team. Australia punished Pakistan. Pakistan punished Afghanistan.

Umpiring is also heavily in favor of bigger teams. Yesterday in the Ind vs WI, umpire made two errors when WI were bowling when DRS proved them wrong, they were reluctant to even change the decision.

In today’s game, Imad was out at like 1 or 2 runs.

While umpires are human and is subjected to error some of their decisions are just shocking especially against the weaker teams.

 

[NA]

Afghans shouldn't have scored more than 185.

Very defensive captaincy allowing easy singles and not having slip fielders. Also Shaheen only bowled 3 in his first spell.

Asghar Stanikzai is poor against pacers yet Sarfraz persisted with spin. All this allowed them to score 40 extra.

A very lucky escape ... yet again. Seems like people forgot the Asia Cup group match.

Sarfaraz deserves lot of flack for this game, but not for the points you mentioned. Pakistani bowlers mostly bowled rubbish in this game, never getting the line right pretty much throughout the game. Notice the number of wides we gave away. It was a good decision to take Shaheen out after three overs. He wasn't bowling well at all. Shadab bowled the wrong line for most part too.

Also the couple of chances that went through the slips were way wide of first slip, and they would have been extremely sharp catches, even if someone was standing in the slips. Yes, the slip position should have had someone throughout Shadab's spell, but it didn't cost Pakistan a wicket.

Sarfaraz actually captained well, throughout the Afghan innings, and Afghanistan were way short where most teams would have been had they faced such wayward Pakistan bowling. His real blunder was being restless when he came to bat, and when all that was needed was a calm head. His manner of dismissal was extremely disappointing, especially because there was not even a need to go for the second run as Sarfaraz should have been planning to face the next over himself, with how much trouble Imad was in at the time.

Anyway, a win is a win, and Pakistan came out of it with two points. Three wins in a row with every game being a do-and-die one is quite impressive. Hopefully the run continues, and Pakistan solidifies the semis spot.

Go Pakistan!!

 

[IMMY69]

You really believe that? I would like to, but can't imagine England or Australia having much trouble. Other than that though, it was a really weak performance with the ball as well. Pakistan got very lucky to take the first couple of wickets with bad balls, because we had been bowling garbage before that.

Pakistan got out of jail today, but at the end of the day at least the lower order showed some character to get over the line. They deserve some credit for that.

Yes I really I do believe that.
The wicket took spin from the start but really started spinning later in the afternoon.

Hafeez could have bowled a few more overs, especially to the lefties but other then that the seamers did a decent job bearing in mind there was little in it for them..

Afghan spinners, especially Nabi, was turning it square and it was fast turn...remember India struggled against them and the wicket wasn’t taking nearly as much as spin...

So yes I reckon most teams would have struggled.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Well if it was arrogance then he's ain't arrogant no more!!!))) Enjoy the flight back to Kabul boys assuming you have an airport there

Haha. Beautiful

 

[IMMY69]

If we stick to cricket knowledge and not emotions, the toss was a massive factor on this pitch, with Afghanistan having mostly a all out quality spin attack it was always going to be difficult to chase down a score over 220, yes we played some bad cricket and some decisions went our way, but at the end we dug in and won that's what matters, that's Cricket for you...[/QUOTE

I don’t think Afghanistan would have scored even 150 let alone 227 if they were batting second today...

One poster, I think it was MMHS, actually advocated putting them in if we won the toss and then chase it down in 20 overs to get our NRR up... what an absurd suggestion

 

[shokz1408]

I was there, truly unforgettable experience!

 

[Technics 1210]

They outplayed Pakistan but were extremely unlucky with the umpiring decisions. They should hold their heads high, but their captain is a numpty.

Of course Afghanistan vs India went to the final over and in that game you claimed Afghanistan were lucky to have survived the game till the last over despite the suspect umpiring.

You utter melt.

 

[dani rana]

Imam will not be dropped baber needs to open and fakar 6 down his a pinch hitter who cant open drop hafeez and bring asif both are rubbish fielders any way ...

 

[JellyBro]

Not a convincing win but a win nonetheless. Usually we lose in these situations 9 times out of 10 maybe more. But this time we managed to squeeze a win. That's something new. That's something to be proud of.
Pakistan needs to get their act together though. They gave away too many extras, spin bowling Is lacking penetration, and the batting is still bits and pieces. Dead weights need yo step up and start contributing

 

[The Yorker]

with pakistan unable to put dent into their run rate means your only realistic hope to qualify is india defeating england. The way the kiwis are playing its almost certain england will steamroll roll them.

so we should support india then. If india do win they will do so only for themselves to ensure their qualification for the semis.pakistan can benefit from indias victory. India dont need anyones support they should blow away england and look forward to meeeting pakistan again on tuesday 9th july.

 

[USaqaf]

When Pakistan lift the world cup they should look back on this atrocious match that they should have won easily.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Horrible batting performance. Same issue of being mentally shot. They have the ability, but that phattu attitude is making them play even worse than their form suggests.

No way does Mohammad Nabi go for only 23 runs in his 10 overs, no matter how helpful the wicket is. That's criminal.

No sympathy for Afghanistan. Not anyone's fault your captain is stupid. Not anyone's fault your premier spinner gets shellacked for 60 odd runs in 10 overs on this wicket. Not anyone's fault your batsmen are only capable of sub-par totals.

 

[Ami]

We are minnows...and loving it!
I just want us to 'fluke' this for as long as we can...brilliant!

 

[Arsal_AK]

India were never out of the game. Whenever Afghanistan tried to pull ahead, India pulled back. And they have been clinical in all of their other matches.

Meanwhile we had to rely on the umpires and Gulbaddin's heroics to have any chance whatsoever. We were practically done and dusted by the time Sarfraz got out.

Sarfraz can't run to save his life. Imad is on the ground as soon as he has to push hard for a few runs. And then we are supposed to believe that fitness doesn't matter. One of these two is the captain and the other is touted to be the next in line by many.

This mediocrity should'nt be acceptable. Or this same Afghanistan, very soon will start to get over the line. They beat us in the warm-up, ran us really close in Asia Cup and now this. You would have to be blind not to notice that this is not right.

 

[Jonty]

I think getting a tough game against AFG was a blessing in disguise! They’ll come hard at Bangla hopefully

 

[Sean143]

Oh yes this was a champion teams performance. Everyone is quaking in their boots after you were supposed to improve your net run rate and make light work of the only absolute gimme in this tournament.

Yes we should have defeated them comprehensively, just like India did a few days ago.

 

[Mehndi155]

Poor from hafeez fakhar sarfraz
Good innings from haris babar imam but they needed to kick on.

 

[MRSN]

When Pakistan lift the world cup they should look back on this atrocious match that they should have won easily.

Not gonna happen. Too many weaknesses to beat top teams in pressure games.

Also I strongly believe Eng will make a strong comeback. They are too good side to not make semis. Pak should have done better against WI so they had chance to oust NZ.