Ibrahim, Atal, bowlers clip Pakistan's wings

Ibrahim Zadran (65) and Sediqullah Atal (64) starred in Sharjah as Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 18 runs to go level on points with their neighbours in the tri-series in the UAE. A complete bowling performance also saw four Afghan bowlers pick up a brace to stifle their opponents in the chase. For Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf was their standout performer with 4 for 27 in his spell but the effort ended up in a losing cause.

Having opted to bat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz went cheaply for just eight falling to the spin of Saim Ayub in the second over. The wicket brought Atal and Ibrahim together with the former playing an excellent lofted straight drive to the fence in the third over. Afghanistan were only 18 for 1 after 4 overs but Ibrahim took on the short deliveries by Haris Rauf to hit a four and a six off the speedster. Pakistan were slightly sloppy after this in the field. Atal played an inside-out shot that flew over the ropes before five runs off an overthrow meant that they got 15 runs off the seventh over. The duo brought up the 50-run partnership in the ninth over as Ibrahim comically swept Mohammad Nawaz for four over the umpire's head straight down the ground.

The Afghan duo found the boundary once in the next two overs but despite the flow of runs, Ayub was miserly with the ball conceding just 18 runs in his 4 overs. It was the 14th over which changed the complexion of the game. Having struggled to line up Sufiyaan Muqeem, the duo clinched three fours and a six in the massive 20-run over which also saw Atal bring up his second T20I 50. Atal fell to Ashraf, bringing an end to the 113-run stand, while Azmatullah Omarzai was dropped in the last ball of the same over.

Ibrahim moved to 50 and then clinched three boundaries off Rauf who continued to be expensive. Ashraf struck twice in three deliveries in his second over with Omarzai and Ibrahim departing. The Pakistan all-rounder also claimed the wicket of Karim Janat before Mohammad Nabi smashed a four and a six to take Afghanistan to 169 for 5.

AM Ghazanfar began proceedings on his T20I debut but Sahibzada Farhan slog-swept him for six. At the other end, though, Ayub fell first ball to Fazalhaq Farooqi. Fakhar Zaman came in and got his innings going with two boundaries in quick time. Farhan continued his blitz with a four and a six off Ghazanfar before he had his stumps castled by Farooqi. Salman Ali Agha and Zaman found the stands twice to take Pakistan to 52 for 2 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Afghanistan missed a run-out chance off Zaman but to their fortune, the southpaw thick-edged one straight to the short third-man fielder. Agha was run-out in the next over as Pakistan's innings was suddenly derailed. They never recovered from the stutter as Hasan Nawaz fell to Noor Ahmad while Nabi scalped Mohammad Haris. The onus fell on Mohammad Nawaz and Ashraf in the death overs but Rashid picked two-in-two to leave Pakistan eight-down. Noor scalped Ashraf which was the final nail in the coffin before Rauf's lusty blows - he hit four sixes - at the end provided some entertainment for the crowd in the end.

Brief Scores: Afghanistan 169/5 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 65, Sediqullah Atal 64; Faheem Ashraf 4-27, Saim Ayub 1-18) beat Pakistan 151/9 in 20 overs (Haris Rauf 34*, Fakhar Zaman 25; Noor Ahmad 2-20, Mohammad Nabi 2-20) by 18 runs