HEADINGLEY: All-rounder Imad Wasim’s unbeaten 49 guided Pakistan to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.

Chasing a target of 228, Pakistan lost opener Fakhar Zaman for a duck on the second ball of the innings when he was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Babar Azam, who scored his maiden World Cup century in Pakistan’s win over New Zealand earlier this week, combined with Imam-ul-Haq to stabilise the innings with a steady 72-run partnership.

Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi removed the pair to expose the middle order, before Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Sohail fell cheaply to leave Pakistan reeling at 142-5.

Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed (18) and Shadab Khan (11) were run-out to set up an intense finale but Wasim and Wahab Riaz (15) ensured there were no further hiccups as they chased down the target with two balls to spare.

“When I went in they were bowling brilliantly but I just hung in there. We wanted to bat out the 50 overs and see,” Wasim, who was named man-of-the-match, said.

“Thank you to the crowd, it feels like home here. They gave us a boost in confidence. Win our next game and we’ll see what happens. Now we believe we can win from anywhere.”

Pakistan, who moved ahead of England to fourth in the table, now need to win their final match against Bangladesh on Friday and hope other results go their way to advance to the semi-finals.