Naseem Shah peeled off two successive sixes off the first two balls of the final over as Pakistan broke Afghanistan’s hearts in Sharjah.
The fast bowler’s remarkable cameo gave Pakistan a one-wicket win which sends them through to Sunday’s Asia Cup final, where they will play Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan had been defending 11 off the final over, with Fazalhaq Farooqi, who had been outstanding until that point, bowling.
He sent down two low full tosses, and Naseem muscled each of them over the long off boundary.
Until that point, it had felt like the Afghans were set to create a remarkable upset that would have kept all four sides in with a chance of making the final.
Afghanistan had got off to a rapid start with the bat, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz again cashing in against the new ball.
The wicketkeeper-batter hit two sixes in the 11 balls he faced, but once he was bowled by Haris Rauf – with Afghanistan on 36 for no loss in the fourth over – the scoring rate slowed.
Presented with a pitch of little pace, Pakistan’s fastest bowler was their best.
Rauf was a constant threat, and later added the dismissal of Ibrahim Zadran, who scored slowly but did top score with 35 for the Afghans.
A target of 130 felt paltry at halfway, but the Afghans were immediately given reason to believe an upset was possible.
Babar Azam, who was displaced at the top of the T20I batting rankings by his opening partner Mohammed Rizwan a day earlier, has endured a tough time at this competition.
It only got worse when he followed his opposite number – Afghan captain Mohammed Nabi – in falling for a golden duck against the left-arm pace of Farooqi.
Fakhar Zaman has seldom looked more cheery than his captain at this Asia Cup, either, and he failed to snap out his funk.
When he was run out for five by a direct hit from Najibullah Zadran, Pakistan were 18 for two and the Afghans were infused with optimism.
They were helped by the excellence of Mujeeb Ur Rahman with the new ball. The spinner did not take a wicket, but went for just 12 from his four overs.
Pakistan rallied thanks to Shadab Khan, who took a Nabi over for 14 runs, as they reached 87 for three.
Farooqi and Fareed Ahmed, Afghanistan’s pair of left-arm quicks, each took three wickets apiece to take their side to the brink of victory – only for Naseem to extinguish their hope.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
The specs
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Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Court 3
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