Published: Feb 27, 2023, 11:06 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 27, 2023, 11:18 AM (IST)
New Delhi: Ace Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was at the peak of his game as he took five wickets to help his side Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi in a high-scoring PSL thriller. Opting to bat, Lahore Qalandars posted a mammoth total of 241 in 20 overs, courtesy of brutal knocks by Fakhar Zaman (96), Abdullah Shafique (75) and Sam Billing (47).
Chasing a daunting total, Peshawar Zalmi had to face the wrath of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s venomous bowling. Afridi was spot on from ball one as he broke the bat of Zalmi batter Mohammad Haris into two pieces. Afridi then shattered Haris’ stumps on the next ball to give Lahore Qalandars a brilliant start.
First ball: Bat broken ⚡
Second ball: Stumps rattled ?PACE IS PACE, YAAR ??#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/VetxGXVZqY
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 26, 2023
In his third over, Shaheen cleaned up Pakistan skipper Babar Azam with a jaffa. Ahead of the game, when Babar Azam was asked about his battle with Shaheen, the batter had floored the entire media room with his response.
“Babar, you always meet everyone with a smiling face but tomorrow you face Shaheen Shah Afridi,” the reporter had said before Babar interrupted.
“To to kar milein unhein? Kya kare, nahi khele fir? Aap bataye…(Should I cry and meet him, or should I not play? Please tell me…),” Babar said in response as everyone started to laugh.
The game looked done and dusted at this point but a brilliant counter-attack by Tom Kohler-Cadmore (55) and Sam Ayub (51) revived the chase. However, the duo fell in quick succesion and it was game over for Peshawar Zalmi, who managed 201-9 but lost the game by 40 runs. Afridi also took the wickets of James Neesham, Saad Masood and Wahab Riaz to end the match with figures of 5-40.
