Asif Ali’s casual shake of head to refuse a single on the final ball of the 18th over could well go down as the coolest ‘no’ of this tournament. It had the brashness of a cowboy flicking his cigarette before a shoot-out, it had the swagger of an action hero walking into a dark alley to face the villains. Pakistan wanted 24 from two overs. Shoaib Malik, his senior partner and fellow finisher from the earlier game, had just got out. Asif wanted the ball in his court and for that he needed to be on strike. He knew he could do it, he had a measure of the ground and his strokes. In the last game he had hit three sixes to score 27 runs off 12 deliveries. This time he scored 25 from 7 balls. He didn’t believe in taking the game to the last over. His idea of scoring 24 was similar to a child who had just by-hearted 1 to 10 tables. If you are Asif, 24 is as easy 6×4.

Shukria Asif Ali 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/Q2evAqrru8

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 29, 2021

Pakistan’s sensational run continues 🔥#T20WorldCup | #PAKvAFG | https://t.co/1VM4iAyNq4 pic.twitter.com/oWSthyVsD7

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 29, 2021

Peer Pressure

Over the few matches he’s played at this T20 World, Shaheen Shah Afridi has become more and more difficult to play. His first over against Afghanistan just affirmed that as the only solid connection Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai managed to get was when the ball crashed into their pads. Naturally, Afridi, all of 21, was excited in every appeal. The umpire would promptly shake his head, and the youngster would immediately look at his captain Babar Azam and plead for the DRS call. On the first two occasions Azam resisted, spotting the ball was going nowhere near the stumps. On the last ball of the first over though, peer pressure perhaps got the better of the skipper. A full toss that Zazai missed was safely sailing wide of leg stump. It crashed into his pad and Afridi appealed. The umpire shook his head, and those pleading youthful eyes turned to Azam. With two seconds to go, Azam called for the review. As expected, it was going well wide.

2⃣ down!

Shaheen gets into the act as he gets the scalp of Shahzad.

Babar Azam takes the catch.#T20WorldCup | #PAKvAFG | https://t.co/1VM4iAyNq4 pic.twitter.com/aRUUaG7X5m

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 29, 2021

Finding emo, the Big Easy Shahzad way

Ahmed Shahzad can never be blamed for keeping his emotions bottled. The 8 balls he faced was enough for his 15 minutes – by the way the exact duration of his innings – of fame. Clearly not aligned to Virat Kohli’s school of fitness, the stocky opener, with more than 100 appearances for his nation in all formats, is a brand ambassador to cricket’s inclusiveness and game’s acceptance for humans of all shapes and sizes. The ever-expressive Shahzad can never be great at poker. At the start of the game, he was driven.

He closed his eyes, pointed to the skies after the anthem. He was in the ear of his opening partner at the start – animated and excited. He looked puzzled when he failed to connect a Shaheen Afridi yorker. As a short one sailed over his head, he shadow practiced his ramp shot. He brought the house down with his on-the-up drive over the cover cordon. But the standout emotion of the super short cameo was his ire when his partner refused a tight single. His message to the world: singles need to be judged by the placement of the ball, not size of the caller.

Gulbadin blooms without thorny crown

Gulbadin Naib had found himself as the captain during the 2019 ODI world cup in England with the Afghanistan board playing musical chairs with the job. The campaign was a disaster and Naib had found it all a bit too much. “You guys got a chance to go around the cities when you don’t have games?” he was asked. “Nahi bhai, Mostly hotel, practice, hotel.” Why? “Cricket is the only thing for us and in our country. And we are not doing well here. I am very, very disappointed; most guys are. No mood to go out. I have lots of relatives all around this country but I have not gone much. They also would be sad with the way we have played. So I have been just in the hotel mostly. Ek win mil jaaye toh…” He looked weary, almost sad. That win never came in that tournament.

He would be a much happy man on Friday night. He is no longer the captain and was instrumental in charging Afghanistan to a great finish. It began with a four off Shaheen Afridi in the 16th over before he looted 21 runs off the 18th over by Hasan Ali. A thunderous pull to the midwicket stands, a smash hit to long-on, and a drag-heave to cow-corner. He even slammed Haris Rauf for a boundary in the 19th over. His unbeaten 35 and the unbroken 71-run partnership with Mohammad Nabi lifted Afghanistan from the pits of 76 for 6 to 147.