Lahore Qalandars skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi was on fire with the ball, picking up a five-wicket haul in a clash against Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League 2023. The match featured more than 440 runs with the bat but it was Afridi’s 5/40 in 4 overs that set up the Qalandars’ 40-run win over Zalmi on (February 26).
Shaheen’s Magical Spell
The much-awaited contest lasted two balls with a sensational start first ball when Shaheen Afridi’s full-length ball outside off had Mohammad Haris going for a drive, but the ball cut the bat into two pieces. Haris was just holding the top half of the bat, just the handle almost left in his hands.
First ball: Bat broken ⚡
Second ball: Stumps rattled 🎯PACE IS PACE, YAAR 🔥🔥#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/VetxGXVZqY
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 26, 2023
A new piece of wood came but it didn’t even get any contact with the ball at all as Afridi’s in-swinging yorker beat the intended big swing to crash into the stumps.
Shaheen Afridi is the best modern T20 pacer and you can't even debate it. Eagle on hunt. 🦅#LQvsPZ#PSL08 #CricketTwitterpic.twitter.com/ixfho0eWZY
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) February 26, 2023
The Shaheen vs Babar battle was already gaining a lot of traction before the match had begun. In the match, fair to say that Shaheen won the contest convincingly. When Babar Azam was asked about his battle with Shaheen, the talismanic batter had given 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.
Fakhar Zaman & Shaheen Afridi | Post match talk#sochnabemanahai #HBLPSL8 #QalandarHum #QalandarsCity #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/5wRFufM1hb
— Lahore Qalandars (@lahoreqalandars) February 26, 2023
A few days back, Mohammad Haris triggered a flood of social media posts with his comment about young Pakistan pacer Ihsanullah, who has been firing at over 150kmph in the PSL this season. “Jis tarah ki meri ball lag rahi thi, to shukar hai Ihsanullah bach gaya. Vo to uski khushkismati hai,” (The way I was striking the ball, he should consider himself very lucky that he escaped!),” Haris had said.
Mohammad Haris 😲
'The way ball was coming onto my bat, Ihsanullah is lucky to escape. I have kept wickets to him, since we play together in KPK team. I had planned for him, but unfortunately I was only able to face two deliveries from him'#PZvMS pic.twitter.com/NtXYpi3hBJ
— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) February 17, 2023
Are you impressed with Shaheen’s performance?
