Salman, Rauf too good for Afghanistan in tri-series opener

An unbeaten half-century from captain Salman Agha and a disciplined quartet of bowlers saw Pakistan ease to a 39-run victory in the first game of the tri-series against Afghanistan. After batting first on a surface curiously supportive of quick runs in Sharjah, Pakistan flew out of the blocks before Rashid Khan dragged them back after the powerplay.

But their gameplan encourages attack right through the innings, and equipped with a deep batting line-up, they had the ammunition to keep going hard till the end. It was best summed up by their Nos. 6, 7 and 8 - Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris and Faheem Ashraf - combining to score 50 runs in 29 balls.

Afghanistan's pursuit combined purpose with craft, tempering their strokeplay in favour of faithfully tailgating the required rate. Rahmanullah Gurbaz had the license to take advantage of the powerplay, but with Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal more cautious, it was clear Afghanistan were trusting their lower order to make up if they fell behind.

It worked nicely until the 11th over, but that plan was blown to shreds with a double-wicket maiden from Haris Rauf in the 12th over which triggered an Afghanistan capitulation. It saw them lose five wickets for four runs in 16 balls, and though Rashid gave his side fleeting hope with a delightfully entertaining 16-ball 39, Afghanistan had drifted far out of the game to swim their way back into it.

Afghanistan had the better of all Pakistan batters in the powerplay bar one, and that was the one who counted. Sahibzada Farhan had made up his mind he would take on Fazalhaq Farooqi straight from the outside, the intent crystallised into action when he drove him back over his head off the game's fourth ball. A four followed that six, before Azmatullah Omarzai was greeted with another piledriver over midwicket.

He was gone by the 15th ball of the game when Omarzai strangled him down leg to short fine, but there had been time enough to smash his way to 21 off 10 balls. Afghanistan's spinners applied the squeeze effectively for the next eight overs as Pakistan kept losing wickets and scored just 51 in that period, but the buffer Farhan had provided his side meant they hadn't lost too much ground before the picked up the pace again.

Rashid is arguably the best T20I bowler, while Salman is inarguably not the best T20I batter. However, in this battle of captains, it was the less fancied Pakistan skipper who landed all the telling blows. Having dispatched a couple of boundaries off Fareed Ahmad in the previous over, he took on Afghanistan's talisman, slapping a couple of on-side sixes in an over that leaked 17.

Mohammad Nawaz, watching from the other end, would join the action when Omarzai returned, taking his captain's lead and slapping a couple of sixes in that 15th over. Salman continued along, and though that kind of explosiveness wasn't an ever-present, he still finished with an unbeaten 53 off 36 by the end of the innings; Pakistan scored 99 in the final 9 overs, and it had all begun with Salman's unlikely takedown of an Afghan superstar.

Well-managed chases are not Afghanistan's renowned strength, but you could have been fooled for thinking otherwise halfway through the chase. Atal and Darwish Rasooli had struck up a menacing partnership, and Rashid's side were nicely placed at 93 for 2 with nine overs in which to launch their onslaught.

Until Rauf returned to the attack. A couple of furious hard length deliveries that flirted with the 150kph mark elicited no runs, and as the pressure built, Atal grew desperate. He lashed out at a slower ball only to find Shaheen Afridi at deep third. Karim Janat failed to get bat on ball on the first two deliveries and then smeared one to deep square leg, bringing down the curtain on a double-wicket maiden.

Afghanistan imploded over the next few minutes. Sufiyan Muqeem removed Rasooli the following delivery, and Mohammad Nabi in his next over. Mohammad Nawaz accounted for Omarzai as he charged down the pitch leaving Haris with a straightforward stumping. From the 12th to the 16th over, Afghanistan scored a mere 6 runs in 24 balls and lost five wickets. It left Rashid's ensuing onslaught as light entertainment in an already lost cause.