For the second night in a row, Asif Ali turned the tables in style to deliver it for Pakistan. Smashing four sixes in the penultimate over against Afghanistan on Friday night in Dubai, Asif bailed Pakistan out with a five-wicket win and keep their winning streak intact at the T20 World Cup 2021. The new finisher in town was soon poured with wishes across social media with even veteran and present Indian cricketers praising Asif for his impressive knock.
Veteran cricketers VVS Laxman, Aakash Chopra and Harbhajan Singh, along with Jaydev Unadkat joined the bandwagon of Twitteratis in praising Asif's exceptional finishing skills.
With 24 required off the final two overs, Asif looked determined to exploit Afghanistan's weakest bowler as he took on Karim Janat to slam four sixes in the 19th over.
"He (Asif Ali) is known for this. He has played many innings at the PSL (Pakistan Super League). So I was very confident he'd get us out of any trouble we find ourselves in. I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed," captain Babar Azam said after his team scored a hat-trick of wins to stay on top in the group 2 points table.
{{/usCountry}}"He (Asif Ali) is known for this. He has played many innings at the PSL (Pakistan Super League). So I was very confident he'd get us out of any trouble we find ourselves in. I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed," captain Babar Azam said after his team scored a hat-trick of wins to stay on top in the group 2 points table.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the evening, Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi stitched a 71-run stand between themselves to guide Afghanistan to 147 for 6. Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan early in their chase, but Fakhar Zaman and Babar revived the innings with their 63-run stand before the captain went on to score his second half-century in the competition.