{"id":981,"date":"2026-01-22T15:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/?post_type=news&#038;p=981"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:32:28","slug":"mujeeb-hat-trick-helps-beat-west-indies","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/news\/mujeeb-hat-trick-helps-beat-west-indies\/","title":{"rendered":"Mujeeb Hat Trick Helps Afghanistan Beat West Indies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Afghanistan continued their impressive run in T20 cricket with a commanding 39-run victory over West Indies in the second T20 International in Dubai, clinching the three-match series with an unassailable 2 0 lead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The match was highlighted by a sensational hat trick from mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, along with composed half centuries from Sediqullah Atal and Darwish Rasooli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked to bat first after West Indies won the toss, Afghanistan recovered strongly from an early setback to post a competitive total of 189 for four in their allotted 20 overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Afghan top order stumbled inside the power play, but Atal and Rasooli steadied the innings with a crucial partnership that shifted momentum firmly in their side\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rasooli followed up his strong performance in the series opener with a fluent 68 off 39 deliveries, striking the ball cleanly against both pace and spin.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the other end, Atal played a measured knock of 53, rotating the strike effectively while punishing loose deliveries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their partnership laid the foundation for a strong finish, which was further boosted by Azmatullah Omarzai\u2019s unbeaten cameo late in the innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chasing 190, West Indies found themselves under immediate pressure as Afghanistan\u2019s bowlers maintained discipline and intensity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mujeeb Ur Rahman turned the match decisively during the middle overs, removing key batters and keeping the scoring rate in check.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His dismissals of Evin Lewis and Johnson Charles on successive deliveries left the West Indies reeling early in the chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The victory also serves as a timely boost for Afghanistan as they continue preparations ahead of the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/icc-t20-world-cup-2026-schedule\/\">T20 World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hat-trick moment arrived later when West Indies captain Brandon King, who had played a fighting knock of 50, fell to Mujeeb, completing a rare and memorable feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that delivery, Mujeeb became only the third Afghan bowler to register a T20 International hat trick, joining Rashid Khan and Karim Janat in an elite list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shimron Hetmyer provided brief resistance with a blistering 46 off just 17 balls, striking several towering sixes to keep West Indies in the contest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, once he departed, the chase lost momentum, and the Caribbean side was eventually bowled out for 150 in 18.5 overs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mujeeb finished with an excellent four-wicket haul and was named Player of the Match for his match-winning spell.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Azmatullah Omarzai and Fazalhaq Farooqi provided solid support, picking up two wickets each as Afghanistan maintained control throughout the innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the series already secured, Afghanistan will now look to complete a clean sweep in the final T20, while West Indies aim to restore pride.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":982,"template":"","tags":[467,468,466],"ppma_author":[493],"class_list":["post-981","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-afghanistan-t20-series-win","tag-afghanistan-vs-west-indies-t20i","tag-mujeeb-ur-rahman-hat-trick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}