Fans were treated to a superb game of cricket when Pakistan took on Afghanistan in the second ODI. The Afghans were close to pulling off a memorable win but in the end it was the Men in Green who emerged victorious. Pakistan were chasing 301 to win and found themselves at 274-8 after 48 overs. However, it was here that Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah came to Pakistan's rescue. Shadab hit a four and a six to end the 49th over and kept the team in the chase reducing the equation to 11 needed off six deliveries.
However, before the first ball of the final over was bowled, Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi attemped a run-out at the non-striking end, catching Shadab Khan out of his crease before he had delivered the ball. The run-out sparked a controversy even though the batter was mandated to be inside his crease before the bowler had left the ball. Shadab shook his head as he walked back.
The video of the run out has surfaced on social media:
Despite the run out though, Pakistan managed to hold on to a win by a wicket. Naseem Shah scored a boundary off the first ball and then struck another off the penultimate ball as the Babar Azam-led side successfully chased down the target. After the match too, Babar seemed to be unhappy about the run-out incident and seemingly brought that up during his interaction with Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi. He was seen gesturing at Fazalhaq Farooqi.
As a result of Pakistan's victory, they have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The final match of the series will be played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo starting on August 26 (Saturday) before the teams head into the Asia Cup 2023 beginning on August 30. Pakistan feature in the tournament opener against Nepal in Multan.