Afghanistan crashed to a humiliating 39-run loss to Pakistan in the tri-series opener in Sharjah. Afghanistan were outplayed in all facets of the game as Pakistan showed why they are a dominant force and favourite in this Tri-Series tournament. While it was a positive day for Pakistan, Afghanistan were exposed in various facets of the game and we will try and decipher three reasons why they lost to Pakistan.
Fazalhaq Farooqi & Azmatullah Omarzai leaking runs and not taking enough wickets pegs Afghanistan back.Â
When they came onto bowl first, Afghanistan would have hoped for their pacers to strike and then bring the spinners in the game. But that was not to be as Farooqi and Omarzai failed to take wickets and were expensive on the night. So much so, that both couldn’t complete their spells as captain Rashid Khan was not confident with their bowling display. Farooqi is their main pace bowler and bowls with the new ball and death overs and him going for runs with 0 wickets hurt Afghanistan.
Similarly, Omarzai who is more than a decent bowler went for runs. He might have picked up one wicket but went for 28 runs in 2 overs. With the bat too, he was dismissed for a duck. These two having off days and giving runs easily over 10 runs an over made things easier for Pakistan. While the spinners bowled really well, the pacers went the distance. Fareed Ahmad Malik got two wickets but he too went for runs.
Naveen ul Haq is in the bench ready to come into the side. For Afghanistan to do well, they have to get the fast bowling right and bowl a lot better than what they dished out in this game. 180 was always above par as this was more of a 160 pitch. The bowlers let Afghanistan down especially the pacers. To do well in this Tri-series and then Asia Cup, they have to sort out this gaping hole.
Middle order crumbling in overs 11-15 put the game beyond Afghanistan.Â
The main area of concern is their batting and weak middle order that we alluded to in the build up to the game. Well, that came to the fore in the chase at a crucial time. Chasing 183 for a win, Afghanistan began steadily as they scored 50/1 after 6 overs. After the 10 overs at the Drinks Break, they were 85/2 and required 98 off 60 balls with 8 wickets in hand. The game was still in the balance at this point. But overs 11-15 the most crucial phase of a T20 game turned out to be a bane for Afghanistan.
They went from 85/2 in 10 overs to 99/7 in 15 overs losing 5/14 in this period to completely lose the plot. Out of that 3 wickets fell at the same score of 93 as Atal, Janat, and Rasooli fell to Haris Rauf and Sufiyan Muqeem with Rauf getting a double wicket maiden. Omarzai and Nabi too fell with Mohammad Nawaz and Muqeem getting wickets as Afghanistan lost the plot and even though Rashid entertained a tad in the death overs, it was a bridge too far for the Afghans.
Every phase of the game is important in the shortest format of the game. While Afghanistan hung in there in the first 10 overs of the chase, they lost the plot in the 5 overs after that and lost the game as well. To be a good quality side, Afghanistan needs to be good in all phases and not suffer collapses like this. They need to avoid it as they will face sterner oppositions in Asia Cup and also in the Tri-series as well as no side can be taken likely in the T20 format. They would want to iron out their flaws.
Conceding 15 extras compared to 4 by Pakistan hurts Afghanistan badly.Â
Afghanistan were off the mark in all departments and must forget this game quickly. But an area they need to look at carefully is the amount of extras they conceded last night. It was way too many. In a T20 game, it is expected that the fielding side concedes around 10 extras. But Afghanistan exceeded all limits and conceded 15 whereas their opponents Pakistan were disciplined and kept that tally down to 4 runs.
If we examine closely, out of the 15 extras, there were 4 byes, 6 leg byes, 4 wides and a no ball. So, around 5 extra balls had to be dished out. Add that and the amount of runs scored and it will be to extraordinary levels. Pakistan just conceded 3 wides and a leg bye in their fielding innings. There is one thing that one can be in control of and that is extras and discipline and Afghanistan lacked it a bit yesterday.
Going forward in this series and beyond, Afghanistan will look to tighten up this area and bounce back stronger as another loss after this game could mean detrimental to their confidence and going forward in this tournament as well. So, Afghanistan needs to tighten up this issue and come back harder in the upcoming games. They have the team and have all bases covered to shine in this tournament.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Pakistan will be back in action later tonight when they square off against host nation United Arab Emirates in Sharjah at 8:30 PM IST on 30th August 2025. Will Pakistan continue their momentum and show dominance to make it 2 wins out of 2 or will UAE pull off a surprise and upset Pakistan?
Find out later tonight as the Tri-series keeps on coming and entertaining all of us as a great preparation for all three sides ahead of Asia Cup 2025. Let’s see how things unfold tonight.
Also Read:Â UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025: Resurgent Afghanistan Face-Off Against Unpredictable Pakistan In Series Opener.