After Shaheen Afridi claimed a four-wicket haul, all-rounder Imad Wasim showcased a heroic performance with the bat to help Pakistan seal a three-wicket win over Pakistan and keep their semi-final hopes alive at the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday.
Put in to bowl first at the Headingley Carnegie in Leeds, Shaheen was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as he finished brilliant figures of four for 47 to help his side restrict Afghanistan to a paltry score of 227 for nine in their stipulated 50 overs.
Besides Shaheen, Imad and Wahab Riaz grabbed two wickets each while Shadab Khan also chipped in with a wicket. For Afghanistan, Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran were the top scorers with 42 runs each.
In reply, opener Imam-ul-Haq (36) and first drop Babar Azam (45) forged a solid partnership for the second wicket before the Afghanistan bowlers fought back to reduce Pakistan to 206 for seven. However, Imad Wasim struck a crucial 54-ball 49 to take the game away from the Gulbadin Naib-led side and guide his side to win with just two balls to spare.
Let us take a look at the highest run-scorers and wicket-takers after Pakistan vs Afghanistan match:
Most Runs
Australian opener David Warner, who was dismissed cheaply for 16 runs during the clash against New Zealand on Saturday, continues to lead the list of the highest run-scorers of the 2019 ICC World Cup. The 32-year-old batsman has taken his tally to 516 runs from eight matches he played so far.
Warner is being closely followed by teammate and Australian skipper Aaron Finch, who is standing at the second spot with 504 runs. Finch went back to the pavilion after scoring just eight runs during the New Zealand clash.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan continues to stand at the third spot with a total of 476 runs from six matches he has played so far in the quadrennial event.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who smashed a 40-run knock during the clash against Australia, has climbed a place to stand at the fourth spot. He has a total of 446 runs from six innings he has played so far.
English batsman Joe Root rounds off the top-five list after amassing 432 runs from seven innings.
| Pos | Player | Team | Runs | Matches | Innings | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Warner | AUS | 516 | 8 | 8 | 516 |
| 2 | Aaron Finch | AUS | 504 | 8 | 8 | 504 |
| 3 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 476 | 6 | 6 | 476 |
| 4 | Kane Williamson | NZ | 454 | 7 | 6 | 454 |
| 5 | Joe Root | ENG | 432 | 7 | 7 | 432 |
| 6 | Babar Azam | PAK | 378 | 7 | 7 | 378 |
| 7 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 338 | 5 | 5 | 338 |
| 8 | Mushfiqur Rahim | BAN | 327 | 6 | 6 | 327 |
| 9 | Virat Kohli | IND | 316 | 5 | 5 | 316 |
| 10 | Usman Khawaja | AUS | 298 | 8 | 8 | 298 |
Most Wickets:
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc continues to stand at the numero-uno position in the list of highest wicket-takers in the ongoing edition of the cricket's showpiece event. He has bagged a total of 20 wickets so far.
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson's figures of two for 49 during the match against Australia saw him move up to the second position. He now has a total of 17 wickets to his tally from seven matches he has played so far.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who finished wicketless in his 10 overs against Afghanistan, occupies the third spot with 16 wickets from seven innings.
England pacer Jofra Archer has dropped two places to stand at the fourth spot with 16 wickets from seven innings.
New Zealand bowler Trent Boult's four-wicket haul against Australia saw him break into the top five. He is now standing at the fifth position with 13 wickets from seven matches.
| Pos | Player | Team | Wickets | Matches | Innings | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Starc | AUS | 20 | 8 | 8 | 365 |
| 2 | Lockie Ferguson | NZ | 17 | 7 | 7 | 316 |
| 3 | Mohammad Amir | PAK | 16 | 7 | 7 | 327 |
| 4 | Jofra Archer | ENG | 16 | 7 | 7 | 325 |
| 5 | Trent Boult | NZ | 13 | 7 | 7 | 314 |
| 6 | Mark Wood | ENG | 13 | 6 | 6 | 262 |
| 7 | Chris Morris | SA | 12 | 7 | 6 | 278 |
| 8 | Pat Cummins | AUS | 11 | 8 | 8 | 321 |
| 9 | Sheldon Cottrell | WI | 11 | 7 | 7 | 280 |
| 10 | Imran Tahir | SA | 10 | 8 | 7 | 315 |
A total of 10 teams namely England, India, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are featuring in the 2019 edition of the quadrennial event.
