Pakistan vs Afghanistan, 3rd T20I at Sharjah, AFG v PAK, Mar 27 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Until the next one, this is Rvel Zahid saying goodnight on behalf of Binoy George

Opening batter Saim Ayub batted freely today and played some lovely shots to entertain the crowd, as Pakistan amassed 182-7 in the final T20I.Ayub thumped a well-crafted 40-ball 49 with two sixes and four boundaries as Pakistan put up a much better batting performance from their woeful 92-9 and 130-6 in two back-to-back defeats after being invited in to bat first tonight by Afghanistan.Iftikhar Ahmed made 31 with two maximums while captain Shadab Khan made 28, and Abdullah Shafique finally got going and scored 23.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers with a tight spell of 2-28.In reply, Pakistan started off the proceedings with Imad Wasim and the entire bowling unit put in a concerted effort to bowl Afghanistan out for 116. Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah once again gave resounding proof of their prowess. Ihsanullah was hostile with his bouncers and one of them hit Zadran in the grille and he had to leave the field (Omarzai came in as the substitute batter).

Shadab Khan was miserly today; he dismissed Ibrahim, Usman and Mujeeb in an economical spell. Afghanistan lost their way after the wicket of Gurbaz and slipped from 71/3 to 73/7 as Pakistan bowlers sensed the opportunity to rip through the batting line-up.

Rashid Khan: It's a special occasion to be part of this team, it was a great effort from everyone. We won the series, but we have some areas to improve on. It was a great learning for us. We responded well under pressure...we have struggled under pressure in the past but I'm happy that we chased in a couple of games. This was a much better wicket than the first two games. I felt 10 an over was gettable on this wicket. But the run-out and then Najib got hit, and we lost wickets in the middle. Any series after this is a good preparation for us before the World Cup. Every game teaches us and the youngsters are going to be much better. I try to focus on fitness and work hard, need to make it as hard as possible for the batters. Need to keep it simple, not confuse myself and not experiment much. I know my routine and I try to hit the areas.

Mohammad Nabi (Player of the Series): First two games were played in tough conditions, I'm back to form after a long time. I tried to give my best while bowling and batting. It wasn't a proper call and wasn't a good decision to take the second run (run-out).

Shadab Khan: We wanted to finish on a high note and we have done that. We had to adapt to the conditions and the batsmen managed to do that tonight. We needed to play for Pakistan's pride and we did it. The main motive of this series was to give the youngsters a chance, hopefully, they will get confidence from these matches and it will help them in the long run.

Ijlal Gondal : "@Malikn I beg to differ, if anything we've learned that we can still do quite well without them and at best just need one of the experienced ones Babar/Rizwan at top. Youngsters need experience and someone explosive like Saim is direly needed at top"

Mahad: "I think the reason that Pakistan will remain among the biggest competitors in world cricket will be the sheer pace battery that we possess, and I don't think I need to remind anybody that Ihsanullah had never played an international before this. He is a pure domestic product."

Ijlal Gondal : "@Ghaffar once again I see it differently. I think it was an excellent decision by PCB to test our bench strength and give youngsters the chance and confidence for future. Teams like India, England have even 3 different teams for different formats to showcase their sheer depth. When Nasim/Hasnain won't perform we would've Ihsanullah and Zaman and so on "

Ghaffar: A dead rubber, senseless squad & X1 of first two matches cost Pakistan the series, Afghanistan done with their job, this match means nothing, damage has been done

hameed: "Ihsanullah, reminded me of Shoiab Akhtar nasty bouncers. OH MY GOD. Was treat to watch his bowling"

Umar: "Forgive me for asking the obvious but is Najib okay? What's the update on him. Looked nearly"

Malik: "I think all us Pakistanis now know that even if Rizwan and Babar play with a low SR they are still a very very important part in the team."

Danish : "Despite the pitch's no help for pace bowling, Ihsanullah was great. It'd be whole different fun watching him on bouncy tracks. "