Asia Cup 2022: Afghanistan fans hurl chairs at Pakistan fans after last over thriller

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Sharjah, September 8: The Afghanistan and Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 clash ended in a thriller on the field, but it was utter chaos in the stands as Afghanistani fans hurled chairs at their counterparts after being knocked out of the tournament.

Tailender Naseem Shah's back-to-back sixes in the opening two balls of the final over at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Wednesday (September 7) sealed a 1-wicket win and Asia Cup 2022 final berth for Pakistan, also ending Afghanistan's chances.

While there was little heat when Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Afghanistan pacer Fareed Malik had an exchange of words, soon turning into a physical altercation, the crowd tussle took the level even more higher.

After the match, the chaos unfolded at the stadium as Afghanistan fans were seen breaking chairs and there was even a tussle between fans supporting Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The video of the ruckus was shared on Twitter by former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar and he wrote: "This is what Afghan fans are doing. This is what they've done in the past multiple times. This is a game and it's supposed to be played and taken in the right spirit.@ShafiqStanikzai your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport."

After being tagged by Shoaib Akhtar, the former CEO of Afghanistan Cricket Board Shafiq Stanikzai responded by saying the emotions cannot be in check in these situations and gave example of how they treated the greats of the game from Pakistan.

On Akhtar's tweet, Stanikzai also replied, saying: "You can't control the emotions of the crowd and such incidents happened in the world of cricket multiple, you should go ask Kabir Khan, Inzimam Bhai and @iRashidLatif68 how we treated them. Am giving you an advice next time baat ko nation pe Mat lena."

However, the unruly behaviour in the stands or outside the stadium is not a first for the two sets of fans, who also have history from the 2019 World Cup and 2021 T20 World Cup.

In 2021, the crowd trouble was caused by "thousands of ticketless fans" at Pakistan and Afghanistan's Super 12s game in Dubai. Despite a pre-match plea from Afghan spinner Rashid Khan to "remain cool and calm and just focus on enjoying the game", huge crowds descended on Dubai International Stadium in attempts to gain entry.

The 2019 World Cup meeting at Headingley had also been marred by crowd trouble, security lapses and pitch invasions.