ISLAMABAD – Pakistan, backed into the corner, delivered a remarkableperformance against New Zealand on Wednesday and won the game by sixwickets.
Although Babar Azam was declared as the man of the match, Shaheen Afridi’sperformance should not go unnoticed.
Afridi had been struggling with his form since the Pakistan Super League’s(PSL) 4th edition; he bowled the most expensive spell in the PSL historyduring the campaign and since then, he failed to replicate the performanceswhich helped him get selected for the Pakistan national team.
Eventually, he was dropped from the team but Hasan Ali’s failure to impressas well earned him a starting position against New Zealand, where theleft-arm pacer did not disappoint.
Shaheen took 3 wickets from his 10 overs and conceded only 28 runs. He alsobowled 3 crucial maidens throughout his allocated overs. These stats arethe most economical since Wasim Akram’s 2 for 27 in Manchester in 1999.
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Speaking to media after the game, Shaheen Afridi said that Wasim Akram gavehim a few tips prior to the match which made all the difference.
I follow Wasim Akram and wants to be like him. I also take guidance from mybrother Riaz Afridi who has played for Pakistan. They told me to keepcontrol on line and length and not to allow batsmen to settle down.
Strong performances from Babar, Haris and Shaheen are all positive signsfor Pakistan as they head to the most crucial stage of the tournament;Pakistan need to win both their remaining games against Bangladesh andAfghanistan to stand any chance of qualifying for the semifinal of the ICCWorld Cup 2019.
