Afghanistan delivered a stunning blow to Pakistan in the first T20I of the three-match series at Sharjah, where they beat the Shadab Khan-led side by six wickets. This was only the eighth white-ball encounter between the two teams in the last 11 years.
Khan won the toss and chose to bat, but little did they know the struggles that awaited them. The pitch was challenging to bat on, and Afghanistan kept a tight grip on Pakistan’s batters, not giving them any breathing room. Saim Ayub’s score of 17 off 15 deliveries was the highest among Shadab’s team, which speaks volumes of how well Afghanistan bowled or how poorly Pakistan batted.
