The captain of Afghanistan's cricket team, Khan, has praised his side's first-ever T20 victory over Pakistan in Sharjah.

 Afghanistan cricket captain Rashid Khan acknowledges need for batting improvement ahead of World Cup

Afghanistan's cricket captain Rashid Khan has celebrated the team's first-ever T20 victory over Pakistan, but acknowledged that the side's batting must improve ahead of the 50-over World Cup in India later this year. Rashid and his teammates defeated a youthful Pakistan team, led by Shadab Khan, by six wickets in their opening T20 International in Sharjah on Friday. The Afghan side limited their opponents to a meagre 92-9 and chased down the target with 13 balls to spare, with Mohammad Nabi contributing an unbeaten 38 in the low-scoring encounter, in addition to taking two wickets with the ball. Rashid expressed his delight at the triumph, saying: "It's a pleasure to win, as we've always lost against them, sometimes with small margins. Happy for the win, and we hope to continue the momentum." However, the captain conceded that his team's top order must perform better in the ongoing three-match series and maintain that form heading into the ODI World Cup in October-November. "We need to improve not just for this series but as we get to the World Cup," Rashid said. "From now on, we need to put effort day by day and game by game so that by the end of the year, when we go for the World Cup, we'll have a fully prepared squad." The second T20 is scheduled for Sunday