Former World Cup-winning captain and currently the Prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, lavished praise on Afghanistan cricket team’s rise in recent years. The 69-year-old took to Twitter to express his best wishes to his country, who defeated Afghanistan and nearly confirmed their place in the semifinal.
Pakistan were made to work hard for their win, and things did not come easy for those in green, although the expectation would’ve been for Afghanistan to lose. The Afghans managed to pull things back with the bat and ball, despite Pakistan having the upper hand for the most part of the game.
They managed to go toe-to-toe with Babar Azam’s men, eventually losing out in the final over. Their spirited performances earned them a massive compliment from the Pakistani prime minister, who said that he never saw a cricketing nation rise as rapidly as Afghanistan have done.
“Congratulations Team Pakistan. Impressive cricket by Team Afghanistan. Never have I seen a cricketing nation rise as rapidly as Afghanistan in international cricket & become so competitive. With this competitive spirit & talent the future of cricket is bright in Afghanistan,”
Imran Khan tweeted.
Afghanistan smashed Scotland by a huge margin, which kept them slightly in contention for a semifinal finish despite the presence of three massive teams in India, Pakistan and New Zealand. They put a decent total batting first, with skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib bailing them out of a serious situation.
They got 147 runs on board but batting first after winning the toss on a wicket where dew was bound to have its role, and it was fatal. Azam got a half-century for Pakistan, before Asif Ali provided a staggering finish to the game in the 19th over of the run chase.
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Karim Janat was asked to bowl the penultimate over, with 24 runs still to get. Ali displayed scintillating stroke play and hit four sixes in that over, completing the game in style for his team. Afghanistan have some tough games coming up after their game against Namibia on Sunday, as they will lock horns with India and New Zealand.
