During the tri-series final against Afghanistan on Sunday, Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz dismantled Afghanistan’s batting lineup by achieving a maiden hat-trick in the T20Is.
In a shorter version, he was the first spin bowler from Pakistan to do it.
The last game of the series, Afghanistan had to score 142 runs, so the left-arm spinner was brought in to attack in the sixth over.
In his first over, Mohammad Nawaz allowed just one run in four balls.
It was a significant moment for Pakistan when he dismissed Darwish Rasooli for a duck on the fifth ball. On the next ball, which was the last of the overs, Azmatullah Omarzai was also dismissed for a duck.
After Saim Ayub was out for seven in the seventh over, Mohammad Nawaz came back to bowl the eighth over.
The 2025/26 Tri-national T20I series is between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates.
He dismissed Ibrahim Zadran (9) on the very first ball to complete his maiden hat-trick in the T20Is.
His wicket-taking flurry did not end there, as the Pakistan all-rounder removed Karim Jannat for a duck two balls later to sink Afghanistan to 32/6 in eight overs in the tri-series final.
With the hat-trick, Mohammad Nawaz became just the third Pakistani player to achieve the feat in T20I cricket.
Before Nawaz, pacers Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain bagged hat-tricks for Pakistan in T20Is.
Nawaz’s five-fors steer Pakistan to a T20I tri-series final win over Afghanistan.
Afghanistan falls to 66 runs, with Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem taking four wickets between them.
Mohammad Nawaz’s brilliant bowling helped Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 75 runs in the T20I tri-series final at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. It was his first time taking five wickets.
Afghanistan was only able to score 66 runs, even though their goal was only 142.
Shaheen Afridi dismissed opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for just five runs in the first over. This sets the tone for Pakistan’s excellent bowling performance.
The wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In the sixth over, Abrar Ahmed got rid of Sediqullah Atal after 13 balls. Afghanistan was now 28-2.
Then Mohammad Nawaz struck twice in one over, getting rid of Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai with two consecutive balls. He was now just one wicket away from a hat-trick.
Mohammad Haris made a sharp stumping catch to get Nawaz’s fourth wicket with the first ball of the seventh over. Ibrahim Zadran was out for nine runs.
Nawaz continued his impressive performance by taking his fourth wicket in the same over, dismissing Karim Janat for a duck and leaving Afghanistan reeling at 32-5.