Sharjah (Web Desk): Pakistan secured the T20 tri-series title in Sharjah on Sunday with a convincing 75-run victory over Afghanistan, led by Mohammad Nawaz’s brilliance with both bat and ball.
The left-arm spinner delivered a hat-trick and finished with figures of 5-19, becoming only the third Pakistani to claim a hat-trick in T20Is, as Afghanistan crumbled for 66 runs while chasing 142. Earlier, Nawaz had added a handy 25 off 21 balls with two sixes to lift Pakistan’s innings.
After opting to bat first, skipper Salman Ali Agha saw his side restricted to 141-8 by Afghanistan’s spinners. Rashid Khan claimed three wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Noor Ahmad took two each.
Pakistan, making one change with Abrar Ahmed replacing Haris Rauf, lost opener Sahibzada Farhan early to Farooqi. Fakhar Zaman struck the first six of the match but was soon dismissed by Rashid, while Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz also fell cheaply.
At 61-3 halfway through, Pakistan struggled for momentum until Nawaz and Salman hit timely sixes to push the total past 140, with Faheem Ashraf adding late boundaries.
Afghanistan’s reply never gathered pace as wickets fell regularly. Nawaz’s hat-trick in the powerplay shattered their chase, while Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Moqim picked up two wickets apiece to complete Pakistan’s dominant win before a packed crowd.
Pakistan had earlier beaten the UAE by 31 runs to book their place in the final, while Afghanistan overcame the hosts by four runs. Both teams had split their group encounters, with Pakistan winning the opener by 39 runs and Afghanistan taking the return fixture by 18.
The tournament, played as a warm-up for the Asia Cup beginning September 9, ended with Pakistan lifting the trophy in commanding fashion.
Teams:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Haris (wicket-keeper), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Abrar Ahmed and Muhammad Nawaz.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi.