AFG VS PAK 3RD ODI

Right then, that's all from what was a highly entertaining series. Babar Azam collects the trophy and hands it over to his teammates. The Pakistan players are all smiles as they pose for pictures in front of the Winners' board. Not much of a rest for both of these teams, as they will now shift attention to the Asia Cup, starting on August 30. Pakistan will square off against Nepal in the opening game of the competition in Multan, whereas Afghanistan will kickstart their campaign against Bangladesh in Lahore. The action does not stop here for the day, as Eliminator in The Hundred Men's 2023 is underway, where the Manchester Originals are taking on the Southern Brave. Switch tabs and join us for all the action there. Cheers!

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam says that the team being on the ODI rank one is a big boost for them. He credits his teammates for working very hard for this. He feels that this win is a big positive for them and defeating one of the best spinning sides is a big positive for the coming Asia Cup and World Cup. He mentions that he and Rizwan had to bat deep and then play aggressively towards the end. He also credits the bench strength and feels it is a big relief for him. He also says that he forgot that Shakeel has made his debut already and adds that he will be playing in the Asia Cup.

Hashmatullah Shahidi, the skipper of Afghanistan, says that the conditions were tough and the pitch was difficult here. He mentions that there were some mistakes in their batting unit. He feels that they will learn a lot from this series and improve on their batting and fielding especially. Adds that spinners are their strength and there are some backups as well. He feels that the middle batting order will need to take more responsibility which is a big loss for them. He mentions that injuries also put them on the back foot.

Imam-ul-Haq is the Player of the Series for his consistent performance with the bat. He says that he feels that the conditions were difficult, especially against the spinners. He wanted to rotate the strike more and keep the runs coming. He mentions that going on the back foot worked well for him and he tries to use his front foot to play aggressively. He also mentions about his fielding and credits the management and fielding staff. He ends by saying that this award gives him confidence for the coming tournaments

Mohammad Rizwan is the Player of the Match for his crucial knock of 67 runs off 79 balls. He says that he felt it was tough and that 240 was the expected score. He adds that he batted deep to get used to the conditions. He also mentions that playing on this ground will benefit them in the Asia Cup. He also says that the ball was gripping more in the second innings. He mentions that batting in the middle order is a new challenge for them and he tries to perform the best for his team.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the first innings, we saw Pakistan put 268 on the board. After a quick start, they were pulled back by the Afghanistan bowlers, who took a couple of quick wickets. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played a steady knock to stabilise the innings and later played aggressively. The Afghanistan bowlers also made a comeback by taking four very quick wickets, but Agha Salman and Mohammad Nawaz took the reigns from there. Agha was unbeaten on 38 at the end of their innings, which helped his side get to a competitive total.

Like Pakistan, Afghanistan got off to a watchful start in the first few overs. However, the watchful start soon turned into a shaky one as the in-form duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were dismissed cheaply. Despite surviving the tricky phase against the new ball, Riaz Hassan was unable to convert his start, and after his departure, it all went downhill for Afghanistan. Shahidullah Kamal showed resistance and had Mujeeb Ur Rahman for company, who entertained one and all with his clean hitting. Despite Shahidullah's departure, Mujeeb Ur Rahman looked unflustered and continued on his merry way, notching up the fastest fifty for Afghanistan in ODIs. Just when Afghanistan were starting to believe, Mujeeb fell in an unfortunate fashion and took with him his side's hopes.

Having made a late comeback with the bat, Pakistan certainly took the momentum into their bowling effort. Shaheen Afridi was unable to find his radar, but his new ball partner, Faheem Ashraf, was on the money from the start. Playing in an ODI after a gap of two years, Faheem was consistent in extracting steep bounce off the surface and saw the back of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the first powerplay. Just when it seemed like the surface had gotten easier to bat on, Shadab Khan weaved his magic with a double strike in an over to open the floodgates for Pakistan. The other two spinners, Agha Salman and Mohammad Nawaz, chipped in as well to pile more misery on Afghanistan. Having reduced them to 97-7, complacency crept in, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman started to take the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners. They were blown away by his onslaught and seemed to have no answers on how to dismiss him, which is when Mujeeb brought about his own downfall via a hit-wicket.

There it is, despite Mujeeb Ur Rahman's heroics, Pakistan have sealed a pretty comprehensive victory! By doing so, they have completed a 3-0 whitewash over their neighbours. With the Asia Cup and World Cup around the corner, this result will certainly be a confidence booster for Babar Azam and Co. Moreover, Pakistan are now the top-ranked side in the ODI format. As far as Afghanistan are concerned, the scoreline tells a different story, but Hashmatullah Shahidi's men had their share fair of moments throughout the series and have shown that they have what it takes to beat some of the top sides.

OUT! TIMBER! Shaheen Afridi decides to do it all himself and Afghanistan has been bowled out for 209! This is a full toss bowled at the stumps. Fareed Ahmad gets across the line to paddle this fine but misses and watches his stumps shattered. Afghanistan tried to take the game deep but were well behind in the run chase. Pakistan have whitewashed their opponents in this series and have moved to the top of the ODI rankings.

DROPPED! Bowls this short and outside off. Fareed Ahmad pulls this nicely towards deep mid-wicket and it looks to be clearing the ropes. Mohammad Nawaz settles himself at the ropes and gets both hands on this but spills it. A chance goes begging here!

Goes full again and outside off. Fareed Ahmad makes room and looks to slap this away but misses.

Shaheen Afridi bowls a slower delivery full and just outside off. Fareed Ahmad gets across to scoop this over but does not connect.

FOUR! Fazalhaq Farooqi also using the long levers here! This is flighted full and in line with the stumps. Fazalhaq Farooqi thumps this over the infield towards long on for four runs.

Continues to bowl full and outside off. Fazalhaq Farooqi lofts this aerially towards deep cover for a couple of runs.

Flights this full and outside the off pole. Fazalhaq Farooqi pushes this to the left of the bowler.