Afghanistan Vs Pakistan: Afghanistan lose 3rd T20I by 66 runs, win series

Pakistan won the 3rd T20I by 66 runs to prevent Afghanistan from a clean sweep, but Afghanistan won the series for the first time against Pakistan

Afghanistan lost the 3rd and final T20I against Pakistan by 66 runs but won the series by a 2-1 margin. This is the first-ever series win by Afghanistan against its rival neighbours. The 66-run win helped Pakistan avoid a clean sweep against Afghanistan.

Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by 66 runs

After showing bad performances in the first two games, Pakistan finally got back on track. In the 3rd T20I, Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bowl first, the decision sounds great for the visitors as they took Mohammad Haris' wicket in the second over. Saim Ayub showed patience and played a sensible knock of 49 runs in 40 deliveries, and at the end, stand-in captain Shadab Khan smashed 28 runs in 17 deliveries that helped Pakistan to reach a safe total of 182 runs.

When Afghanistan came to bat, they got a good early start as opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 18 runs in just 11 deliveries. But as soon as they lost their first wicket at a score of 35 runs, no batter showed composure, and the team got all out at a score of just 116 runs and failed to play even 20 overs. 

In a post-match presentation, Afghanistan captain, Rashid Khan, mentioned, "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 Najib got hurt, and we lost wickets in the middle."

Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Afghanistan won the series

Afghanistan won their first-ever series against Pakistan. They won matches and many hearts from cricket fans from all over the world. The all-around performance by the Afghanistan team in the first two matches is an alarm for world cricket and enough to make their presence felt. The world cup is scheduled this year, and this time the team is capable of defeating any team in the world.

Rashid Khan in a post-match presentation said, "Special occasion to be part of this team, it was a great effort from everyone. We won the series, but we have areas to improve on. It was a great learning curve for us." He further said, "Any series after this is good preparation for us before the World Cup. Every game teaches us and the youngsters are going to be much better (in the upcoming games)."