Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal struck successive half-centuries as Afghanistan spinners restricted Pakistan to 151-9 to secure an 18-run win in the fourth T20 of the tri-series on Tuesday.
The spin trio of captain Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and left-arm leg-spinner Noor Ahmad, playing his first game of the tournament, took six wickets between them, strangling Pakistan’s batting line-up.
Zadran (65) and Atal (64) followed up their half-centuries against the United Arab Emirates with a 113-run partnership, helping Afghanistan post 169-5 after Khan won the toss and elected to field.
It was the fourth consecutive game in the tri-series in which teams successfully defended totals, with UAE losing both its matches while chasing against Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi set the tone early for Afghanistan, claiming two wickets inside the powerplay. Saim Ayub fell for a duck on the first ball he faced, while Sahibzada Farhan (18) was clean bowled by Farooqi. Fakhar Zaman’s 25 off 18 balls could not stop the rot as the Afghan spinners applied pressure from both ends. Captain Salman Ali Agha was run out by Khan at the non-striker’s end.
Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris added to the woes, falling cheaply to Ahmad and Nabi, as Pakistan slumped to 82-6 in the 12th over. Khan then dismissed Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi before Rauf prevented a hat-trick. Noor capped a perfect day by clean-bowling Ashraf with his final delivery.
Earlier, Zadran and Atal had paced a century stand before Ashraf’s four-wicket haul in the final three overs curtailed Afghanistan’s scoring.
After three games, both Pakistan and Afghanistan have four points each, while UAE has yet to open its account. The tri-series serves as a warm-up for the 2025 Asia Cup, which begins in the UAE on September 9, with India as defending champions.