Sharjah, September 7, 2025: Afghanistan’s spin duo Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad produced a superb display to limit Pakistan to 141-8 in the final of the tri-nation T20I series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Put in to bat, Pakistan suffered an early jolt when opener Sahibzada Farhan was dismissed for a duck by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the opening over. A 49-run stand between Saim Ayub (17) and Fakhar Zaman (27) offered brief resistance, but once Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan entered the attack, the momentum quickly swung Afghanistan’s way.
Noor removed Saim in the eighth over before Rashid dismissed Fakhar in the very next, leaving Pakistan wobbling at 49-2. Rashid then struck again after the drinks break, sending back Hasan Nawaz (15 off 8) to deepen Pakistan’s troubles at 69-4. Soon after, Noor added to the damage by removing Mohammad Haris (2).
Pakistan’s skipper Salman Ali Agha (24) and Mohammad Nawaz (25) briefly steadied the innings with a 40-run stand, but Rashid returned to claim his third wicket, dismissing Salman in the 17th over. Lower-order cameos from Faheem Ashraf (15 off 8) and Nawaz lifted Pakistan past 140 before Farooqi and AM Ghazanfar closed out the innings.
For Afghanistan, Rashid finished with 3/38, Noor and Farooqi grabbed two wickets apiece, while Ghazanfar chipped in with one. Pakistan ended their innings with Shaheen Afridi unbeaten on 2.
