Pakistan left regret failing to adapt following series loss to Afghanistan

 After losing to Afghanistan by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 International on Sunday, which gave their opponents a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-game series, Pakistan lamented their inability to adjust to the Sharjah conditions.

Coming from the batting-friendly pitches that were laid at home during the Pakistan Super League, a new-look Pakistan side wilted for the second game running to give Afghanistan their first series triumph against a top-six ranked ICC team.

But the experienced duo of Imad Wasim and stand-in skipper Shadab Khan, whose 67-run partnership for the sixth-wicket saw Pakistan post 130-6, said the newcomers in the side deserved more chances on the international stage.

Imad, the top scorer for Pakistan with 64 not out, said after the game, "All the players have potential and I have made it to the team because of their performances."

Pakistan struggled against Afghanistan's pace and spin on the slow wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the absence of five rested frontline players, including the star opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

“The wicket here at Sharjah is quite difficult,” added Imad. "We considered 130 to 140 to be a decent score. It takes years [for a player] to learn reading the wickets and conditions. Sharjah is very tough in that regard and it’s very difficult to play on such wickets.

"Good professional players have good wicket judgement and bat or bowl accordingly. It is mostly how you use the wicket that matters, not who you are playing against.

After reducing Shadab's team to 92-9 on Friday to secure a memorable six-wicket victory over Pakistan, Afghanistan added insult to injury on Sunday when left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique for nought each in the opening over of the innings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such wickets in international cricket, but we are professional players and are experienced enough to be able to deal with everything and I think the youngsters will learn from this.

Since his debut in November 2020, Abdullah has been dismissed for zero runs four times in a row in five T20Is.

Mohammad Haris (15) and Tayyab Tahir (13) also couldn’t gauge the wicket well upfront. After scoring nought in the first game, the lanky Azam Khan, who gained fame for his power hitting in the most recent PSL, was stumped by Rashid Khan's quick googly and was lbw for just one.

Imad and Shadab (32) then combined to lead Pakistan to a reasonable score but Afghanistan chased it down with one ball to spare.

Shadab noted Pakistan were up against it from the start.

“We were suffering again,” Shadab stated at the post-match ceremony. “When you lose three wickets in powerplay, you lose 70% of the games … The young players were nervous. They are taking the field for Pakistan for the first time. Our motive for this series was to check out talented young players and we have to back them in the future.”

Pakistan did get back in the game late on with Afghanistan requiring 22 runs to win off the last two overs only for Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi to seal the game with their belligerent hitting against pace bowler Naseem Shah in the penultimate over.

The target was reduced to five runs by sixes from Najibullah and Nabi off Naseem before the former hit a boundary in Zaman Khan's final over as Afghanistan put on another outstanding run chase.

The series loss, according to Shadab, will help people realise how important Babar and Rizwan are to the stability of Pakistan's batting order.

Shadab stated in the post-game press conference that Babar and Rizwan had the sword hanging over their heads because people believed their strike rates weren't high enough and desired opportunities for young players. “However, with both not here, I’m sure we can see how important they are and that experience always matters.”

But he still backed the young charges like Saim, Haris and Abdullah to come good in the future.

“One series won’t make a player good or bad forever,” he said. “We can produce top level players if we give them a long run in international cricket. Expecting young people to perform like Babar or Rizwan from the start would be foolish. Even they took their time to improve.

“We all know the potential of Saim, Haris and Abdulla and we should be patient with these players.”

In contrast, Afghanistan were delighted with their performance. Afghanistan have previously won a T20I series each against the West Indies and Bangladesh and five in five against Zimbabwe but this was a landmark victory for them.