Pakistan vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI Highlights: Haris Rauf came as a cyclone and destroyed Afghanistan’s base to give Pakistan a five-wicket win in the second ODI. Once it looked like Afghanistan would register their first ODI victory over Pakistan considering the low score to chase, Haris became ruthless on a sluggish pitch, taking 5 quick wickets while giving away just 18 runs.
Pakistan vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI Highlights: Rauf Was Too Much to Take for Afghanistan
In Hambantota on Tuesday, when two teams with incredible bowling attacks tested their teeth, Haris Rauf’s ended up being stronger. Initially, Afghanistan had Pakistan’s stumps at 201, a score that is not that strong to hold on to. And all the confidence was on Afghanistan’s side when they started. A win over Pakistan could write history. It didn’t take much time for Afghanistan to understand that their way to victory was going to be with stones and pits. And they had to turn into an offroader, but instead, they became a sedan and fell off terribly before reaching the desired destination.
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It was not Rauf who started the endgame. Shaheen Afridi and Naseem strike early. Afridi started in his second over, taking the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran just before sending Rahmat Shah back to the pavilion with his next ball. Naseem dismissed Hashmatullah Shahidi right after—an incredible catch by Shadab Khan—to restrict Afghanistan to 4/3. With three of the top four batters falling like feathers without adding a run, Afghanistan sensed the danger, but not that much, that Rauf was coming with.
According to Pakistan vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI Highlights, Rauf entered the red carpet and started doing what he opted for, slaying the wickets like a grass bundle. He locked his eyes on the first prey, who was struggling to settle in: Ikram Alikhil, coming back for the first time to ODIs since 2019. And like any skilled hunter, Rauf exploited the situation, sending Ikram to the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Gurbaz, who wore the clothes of the lobe warrior and couldn’t handle the pace of Rauf, rested himself in the wicketkeeper’s firm hands, scoring 18, topping their squad.
It didn’t take much time for Rauf to execute another death dance. This time, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan followed him to the graves. He gave Rashid’s stumps enough flight time to square off Afghanistan’s innings at 59 and give Pakistan a huge victory by defending a vulnerable score.
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A Crumbling Start
Earlier, Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bat, as at the start, the weather was hot and was supposed to give an edge to the team that batted at that time. As per Pakistan vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI Highlights, they ended up fumbling at the start, losing the first wicket right in the initial over. Fazalhaq Farooqi had the trump over Fakhar Zaman, guiding him to the slip for a catch.
‘It’s just a wicket; there’s still time for a comeback’. Maybe Pakistan thought that, but that flair of hope didn’t go far as Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi gave them the next knock. He trapped Baber LBW, and Pakistan ended up at a crumbling 7/2. Mohammad Rizwan came next and was in the mood to punish Afghan bowlers for boundaries. But Mujeeb trapped Rizwan LBW. After that, Agha Salman, who had the responsibility to lift the score, fell to a googly from Rashid, and Pakistan ended up at 62/4. From there, Imam and Iftikhar Ahmed patiently lifted them, building a partnership of 50 runs between them.
After Iftikhar fell in Nabi’s over with a catch to the slip, Imam reached his patient 50, but a moment of mistake ended up throwing away his wicket to Nabi. A final stand by Shadab and Naseem Shah took them to a score of 202 in the 48th over, when all of their wickets had fallen.
Score Summary
Pakistan Innings: 201 (Imam 61, Iftikhar 30, Mujeeb 3-31, Nabi 2-34, Rashid 2-42)
Afghanistan Innings: 59 (Rauf 5-18, Afridi 2-9)
Pakistan won by 142 runs.
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