Credit: Twitter
The second ODI of the three-match series between Afghanistan and Pakistan was an edge-of-the-seat thriller in Hambantota, where the Men in Green achieved victory by one wicket, with one ball remaining, on August 24, Thursday. After denying Afghanistan their first win in ODIs against Pakistan, the captain Babar Azam wasn’t too pleased with what had transpired in the middle, letting his frustration known to his opposing captain Mohammad Nabi.
The chaotic scenes between the Afghanistan and Pakistan players ensued in the last over of the match, when the bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, who had the responsibility of defending 10 runs, ran out Shadab Khan while backing up at the non-striker’s end. With Naseem Shah joined in the middle by the number 11 batter Haris Rauf, the task of securing the ODI series win looked bleak, but certainly not impossible for the last batting pair.
Also Read: Five records broken by Rahmanullah Gurbaz-Ibrahim Zadran pair in 2nd ODI vs Pakistan - Check Here
Naseem Shah managed to get a four on the first ball of the over against Fazalhaq Farooqi, reducing the target to seven runs off five balls. The next couple of deliveries went for only one run, which brought Haris Rauf to the striker’s end, who managed to score three runs off the fourth ball of the over to get off strike.
With 3 runs off two balls to defend, Naseen Shah managed to squeeze the ball past the short third fielder for a boundary to secure a victory for Pakistan. It led to a wild celebration from the last batting pair in the middle, while the Afghanistan players were dejected at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.
Shortly afterward, Babar Azam, who was looking dejected at the way Shadab Khan was run out, walked out to the field to deliver cold handshakes to the Afghanistan players while avoiding any eye contact with them. He went on to angrily confront Mohammad Nabi about the incident, exchanging a few words, which led to the umpires playing the role of peacekeeper.
Watch the video of Afghanistan and Pakistan players confronting each other here:
Moments earlier, Shaheen Afridi didn’t bother to shake hands with Afghanistan players, even when his captain Babar Azam told him to do so. The rivalry between these two sets of players has been known to bring out quite a lot of mixed emotions, but nothing quite like what had transpired in Hambantota.
