Asif Ali was the star of the night as he smashed four sixes in the penultimate over against Afghanistan to seal a thrilling win for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup clash on Friday.
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The Men in Green needed 26 runs from three overs when Babar Azam was dismissed by Mohammad Nabi. Chasing 148 for their third win in the tournament, Pakistan lost Shoaib Malik in the 18th over, which brought the equation to 24 off the last 13 deliveries.
Ali went on to play once-in-a-lifetime innings, as he proceeded to smash Karim Janat for four sixes in the 19th over to take his team over the line. Experts, former cricketers, and current players went on to pay tribute to Ali on Twitter, with Ben Stokes leading the way with a tweet that read, “Remember the name, Asif Ali.”
The words had previously been used by commentator Ian Bishop in the 2016 men’s World T20 final after Carlos Brathwaite hit four sixes in the last over off Stokes to lead West Indies to the title in Kolkata.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Asif Ali’s knock against Afghanistan:
Remember the name @AasifAli2018
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) October 29, 2021
Asif Ali extremely impressive under pressure. Well played Pakistan 👏🏼 Heart goes out to Afghanistan though. Brilliantly fought till the end.
Seeing Afghanistan tonight, I wouldn’t call #IndvNZ a virtual knockout, this group is more open that you’d think. #AFGvPAK #T20WorldCup21— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 29, 2021
Dealt the heaviest of blows – couldn’t be happier for Asif Ali
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) October 29, 2021
I had seen Asif Ali a few times before and thought he was a powerful batsman. But this level of hitting is insane.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 29, 2021
Asif Ali showed lot of confidence by refusing single on the last ball and finishing it in style by hitting those four big 6 in the next over .. clean and powerful hitter 👍 #AFGvPAK #T20WorldCup @StarSportsIndia
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 29, 2021
A few even remembered Dean Jones, who had coached Ali at Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.
Our great friend and cricket visionary @ProfDeano always believed in @AasifAli2018 to get @IsbUnited out of tough positions. What a finisher he is! @ChuckBerry1969 @wasimakramlive #PakvsAfg
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) October 29, 2021
If Dean Jones was alive, he would be very happy to see Asif Ali Today❤️
Asif Ali Remember the name.#PakvsAfg #PAKvAFG #AsifAli pic.twitter.com/kR3qggCpPb— Uzayr Avan (@meuzayravan) October 29, 2021
If Dean Jones was alive he would have been the happiest person. Thank you Dean Jones for backing Asif Ali. He was in tears when speaking about Asif Ali’s daughter.#PakvsAfg #PAKvAFG #AsifAli pic.twitter.com/0pMliYzEUk
— It’s Cricket Time (@itscrickettime) October 29, 2021
