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Shaheen Afridi was the star of Pakistan, securing an impressive haul of 3 wickets for 23 runs, helping the side to put an end to its four-match losing streak in the 2023 World Cup on Tuesday. Their dominant seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday also resulted in Bangladesh being eliminated from semifinal contention. Afridi was key as Bangladesh endured a dismal performance from thee bat, with the team being bowled out for just 204 runs. The left-arm pacer’s impressive feat of reaching 100 wickets in ODI history in just 51 games made him the fastest bowler to achieve this milestone as well, surpassing Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who accomplished it in 52 games.
And former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra expressed his admiration Afridi – and particularly for his delivery to Bangladesh batter Mahmudullah during the match. Mahmudullah, one of the standout batters for the ‘Tigers’, was batting at a 56 off 69 balls, which included six fours and a six. However, it was Shaheen’s exceptional delivery that ended his innings.
Shaheen adopted an around-the-wicket approach and skillfully moved the ball away from Mahmudullah, leaving the batter completely befuddled. The result was a resounding crash of the ball onto the stumps, marking a crucial wicket for Shaheen and Pakistan.
Watch the dismissal here:
Chopra, reacting to the dismissal on his official YouTube channel, laid a massive praise for Afridi as he compared him to Pakistan’s legendary former pacer Wasim Akram.
“The way Shaheen started here, his numbers are very good against Bangladesh, he is doing very well in this tournament and has reached the landmark (100 ODI wickets) very quickly. He picked up wickets with the new ball and the way he dismissed Mahmudullah with the old ball, I thought that was beautiful,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“He came around the stumps and took the ball away. It reminded me slightly of Wasim Akram. Wasim Jr – he gets the ball to reverse swing nicely because he has a slightly round-arm action. He hit the ball on the stumps that was quite impressive,” he added.
Pakistan may have won against Bangladesh but they need favourable results from other matches to remain alive in contention for a semi-final spot. The side has two group matches remaining in the competition – against New Zealand and England.
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