The Afghan side picked up a four-wicket victory, as they chased down a total of 116 comfortably in the 17th over. Noor Ali and Gulbadin Naib were the top scorers, adding 33 and 26 runs to the board, respectively.

Bowling first, a disciplined Afghan attack crippled Pakistan’s top order, and allowed them to score only 115. The team was bowled out in 18 overs. Omair Yousuf (24) and Arafat Minhas (13) were the top scorers, whereas, the rest of the batters struggled to post double digit scores. 

Catch live updates of Asian Games 2023 Day 13

Among pick of the Afghan bowlers was left-arm pacer Fareed Khan, who took 3 wickets while conceding only 15 runs. Zahir Khan took 2 for 20, and skipper Naib went for 29 runs while picking 1 wicket.

Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here!

The Pakistani bowling remained lacklustre, with only Minhas shining with spell of 2/11 in 3 overs. Usman Qadir went for 20 runs as he picked 2 wickets.

The two teams were represented by their second-choice players, as the primary playing XI are in India for the ODI World Cup. Known as arch-rivals for the close contest between them, Afghanistan and Pakistan will clash on October 23 in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan side led by skipper Babar Azam began their ODI campaign today with their opening match against Netherlands. At the time of publishing this report, Pakistan was 146/3 in 25 overs, batting first.

“Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights!” Click here!

Updated: 06 Oct 2023, 03:59 PM IST