Picture Credit: Twitter
Afghanistan became the first team to qualify for the knockout stage of the T20 Asia Cup 2022 after defeating Bangladesh on Tuesday by seven wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE. Mohammad Nabi-led side started their Asia Cup 2022 campaign by beating Sri Lanka in the season opener by 8-wickets, and remained unbeaten in the league stage.
Afghanistan's bowling is making lot of noise in the tournament and much of its credit goes to former Pakistan pacer Umar Gul who is the current bowling coach of the side. While Gul congratulated Afghanistan players for putting up a great show against Bangladesh on Twitter, his wife requested him to come gentle against Pakistan. The sweet banter between the couple attracted lot of attention from the Twitter users as many responded in their own hilarious manner.
Notably, Afghanistan bowlers were rewarded Player of the Match for their incredible spells in both the league stage games. The 21-year-old Fazalhaq Farooqi was bestowed with MoM in the season opener as he picked three wickets in the game and conceded just 11 runs in 3.4 overs.
Meanwhile, Mujeeb Ur Rahman shone with the ball in second game after he clinched three wickets by conceding 16 runs in four overs, and was awarded with MoM. Even, Rashid Khan provided three breakthroughs to his side as Afghanistan restricted Bangladesh at 127/7 in 20 overs on Tuesday.
While Afghanistan has already secured the spot in Super-4, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will clash on September 1 seeking to qualify further. Meanwhile, Team India will look to cement its position in the knock-out stage when they will take on Hong Kong on Wednesday evening at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
