Quicks Hamid Hassan and Naveen-ul Haq shared six wickets between them in impressive bowling spells as Afghanistan crushed Namibia by 62 runs in their Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
It turned out to be an ideal farewell for former captain Asghar Afghan, who made his last international appearance on the day, saying his decision to retire midway during the competition was triggered by the pain he and his teammates endured after Afghanistan’s heart-breaking loss to Pakistan in their previous match in Dubai last week.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Afghanistan posted 160/5, riding on handy contributions from Hazratullah Zazai (33), Mohammad Shahzad (45), former captain Asghar Afghan (31), who made his last international appearance, and skipper Mohammad Nabi (32 not out).
With the ball, the Afghans restricted Namibia to 98/9 for their second win in the tournament, which took them to No.2 in Group II and boosted their net run rate (+3.097) further.