Afghanistan outsmarted Pakistan Shaheens by four wickets in the semifinal of the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Friday.
With this convincing victory, Afghanistan have now qualified for the final, where they will take on India in the gold medal clash while this defeat crashed Pakistan Shaheens of gold medal race in the event.
Chasing a target of 116 runs, Afghanistan reached home in 17.5 overs for the loss of six wickets. Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib played an unbeaten cameo of 26 runs in 19 balls, which included four and three sixes, to help his side get over the line. Noor Ali Zadran was the highest scorer for the winning side with 39 runs in 33 balls. For Pakistan, Arafat Minhas and Usman Qadir claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, Afghanistan restricted Pakistan to 115 in 18 overs after winning the toss and electing to field first. Opener Omair Yousuf was the top run-scorer for Pakistan with 24 runs, however the rest of the batters could not impress. Fareed Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan with figures of 3-15 in three overs. Pakistan will now face Bangladesh for the bronze medal tomorrow while India will face Afghanistan in the final on the same day.
