Pakistan vs Afghanistan, 3rd Match at Fatullah, , Feb 27 2014 - Ball by Ball Commentary

9.50 pm Pakistan were given a scare but they held their nerve well and it was in that department that Afghanistan faltered. But it has to be said that they faced bowling of immense class and it was a decent showing almost lasting 50 overs. That's all we have for you from this match, but India go head to head against Sri Lanka tomorrow, so hope we have your company then. Goodbye.

Umar Akmal is the Man of the Match "It was a team effort. When the ball was going in the air I was hopping it would get dropped and I would continue my innings," he said "I only wanted to play till the end and that's what happened. I have learnt a lot from the downs and when I was batting the messages I was getting from the dressing room was to stay till the end. It's one of my best innings. Hopefully, I will get more opportunities like this and I want to thank my seniors for their support."

Misbah-ul-Haq says at the start Pakistan's fall of wickets made him hope they reached somewhere around 200. But one of the best innings from Umar Akmal led a very good fightback. The shot selection from the batsmen was disappointing, he says. They did not read the pitch very well and were playing like how it behaved in the first match. They were eyeing the kind of total in the first game, but this was turning and slaying low as well. As professionals, they need to read the situation better. Afghanistan stuck to the basics and hit the lengths and lines that they planned. They really made it hard to score runs and they're a really good side and their fielding effort was impressive too. Pakistan's bowlers put in a great effort, especially the three spinners. Saeed Ajmal was excellent and he considered the bonus point as a bonus

9.45 pm Mohammad Nabi says the bowlers bowled brilliantly in the first few overs but Umar Akmal played very well in the end to put a big total on the board. His drop was the turning point because he is a top batsman. It was a crucial time. Saeed Ajmal bowled brilliantly and we did not expect so much turn.

9.35 pm Afghanistan began well, but they completely stalled against the combined prowess of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. They could not pick up the singles, much less pick off boundaries and the run-rate kept mounting. Noor Ali Zadran played a sparkling little innings but Ajmal's bag of tricks eventually proved too good for the Associate nation. I think they did not pick even one of his doosras. Stay tuned for the presentation

Fasahat Khan: "Umar Akmal made 74 runs after he was dropped. Pakistan win by 72 runs. It's clear where Afghanistan lost the game."

Febin: "The whip/flick, the dab, run outs and not picking the wrong'un has been the story of this entire innings."

paul: "i am PROUD of this afghanistan team.... an asian big gun like the pakistan could not score a 250 plus and the little guns play more than 47 overs/176 for 9....... "

Saeed Ajmal says there was a bit of tension before Umar Akmal took control of the innings. They had been looking at a total of 170-175 because this pitch was a lot drier and might offer a bit more turn. Totally different from the first match, he says. Pakistan needed a breakthrough when Ajmal was brought into the attack and he credited his partnership with Shahid Afridi, which built a lot pf pressure and also added that the quicks and Hafeez also did a very good job. He hoped Pakistan could build on this performance and win the next two games and get through to the finals

Rahul Kapoor: "n the first 10 overs of Pakistan batting that Afghanistan will find it difficult to maintain their intensity for the entire 100 overs of the match. This is the main difference between established teams and upcoming cricketing nations. "

Vinoj Jayasunda: "That dropped catch of Umar Akmal when he was on 28 was the turning point of the match....it changed the game upside down"

two slips

Hamza Hotak is the last man in

Zain: "How many for bonus point ?" They nreed to restrict Afghanistan to 198 or under

Around the wicket to the No.9 Dawlat Zadran