Leeds: Pakistan allrounder Imad Wasim's heroics help Men in green beat Afghanistan by three wickets and two balls to spare in a nail-biting finish in their world cup 2019 encounter here at Headingley.
Chasing down the below-par score of 228 Pakistan didn't have the best of the start as their out of form opener Fakhar Zaman was sent back to the dugout by Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the very first over of the match.
After the first wicket, Imam-ul-Haq and last match's centurion Babar Aazam steadied Pakistan's innings and took the scoreboard to 72. Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi came to bowl in the 16th over and took the wickets of two set batsman.
Pakistan kept on losing wickets on a regular interval. It was left to Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan to take Pak home. The duo added vital 50 runs to the team's score. Another turning point in the match came when Afghan skipper Gulbuddin Naib with his acrobatic fielding dismissed Shadab.
In the last over 6 runs were required and Wasim smashed a boundary to seal one of the most thrilling games in the 2019 World Cup.
Afghanistan bowlers bowled exceptionally and made a below-par total competitive. Nabi and Rahman took two wickets each while Rashid Khan clinched one.
Earlier, after winning the toss Afghanistan's opener Rahmat Shah looked in good touch and scored quickfire 35 runs. Afghanistan allrounder Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran were the top scorers from the Afghanistan innings with the score of 42 runs each.
