AFG vs PAK: Iftikhar Ahmed Taunts Fazalhaq Farooqi And Afghanistan After Pakistan's Thrilling Win

Pakistan batsman Iftikhar Ahmed has taken a sly dig at Fazalhaq Farooqi and Afghanistan after the second ODI between the two teams on Thursday (August 24) in Hambantota. The Men in Green registered a 1-wicket win over Afghanistan to seal the three-match series with a match to spare.

The thrilling win was marred by a controversial incident in the final over. Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi was given the responsibility of defending 11 runs in the final over. With Naseem Shah on strike and Pakistan left with only two wickets, Fazalhaq Farooqi was on the front foot at the beginning of the over.

And the Afghan pacer made things further easier for him by deciding to run out a well-set Shadab Khan at the non-striker’s end before delivering the first ball of the over. However, it did not help his cause much as Naseem Shah powered Pakistan to a thrilling 1-wicket victory with a ball to spare.

Iftikhar Ahmed takes a dig at Fazalhaq Farooqi:

Pakistan were on the verge of suffering a defeat in ODIs against Afghanistan for the first time in its history. They needed 26 runs in the final two overs with only two wickets in hand. Shadab Khan then led the charge with the bat and hit Abdul Rahman for a four and a six in the 49th over to help his team collect 16 runs from the penultimate over.

It left Fazalhaq Farooqi with 11 runs to defend. The left-arm pacer further strengthened his team’s position by running out Shadab Khan after the latter backed up too far and fell victim to a Mankad dismissal. Shadab Khan departed after scoring 48 runs off just 35 balls with the help of three fours and a six.

Shadab’s departure, however, did not stop Pakistan from winning the game. Naseem Shah hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for two overs to seal a memorable win for his side. A couple of hours after the match ended, Iftikhar Ahmed took to X (formerly Twitter) to taunt the Afghanistan pacer.

The right-handed batsman, who scored 17 runs in the game, posted a photo of Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissing Shadab and wrote: “Congratulations Team Pakistan @76Shadabkhan?”

Congratulations Team Pakistan ?? @76Shadabkhan ? pic.twitter.com/6CK8edYG9g

— Iftikhar Ahmad (@IftiMania) August 24, 2023