T20 World Cup 2021: The plan was to bring the ball back – Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan’s gun fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi rattled India’s top-order in the T20 World Cup 2021 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as the Men in Green registered their first-ever World Cup triumph against the arch-rivals.

Afridi provided the perfect start as he sent back Rohit Sharma on the fourth ball of the match.

The left-arm pacer was able to nail the yorker before he got the ball to move back into KL Rahul and hit the top of the off-stump to provide the two early breakthroughs. Hassan Ali then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav and thus India was left reeling at 31-3 after the powerplay overs.

Afridi then dismissed the Indian captain Virat Kohli in the death overs and finished with impressive figures of 3-31 in his four overs. Thus, Afridi played an instrumental role in restricting India to an under-par score of 151 runs. Afridi revealed that the plan was to bring the ball back into the right-handers and he was able to get his rewards as there was swing on offer.

Afridi also gave credit to skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who both remained unbeaten and took their team to a comprehensive win. This is the first time when Pakistan has won by 10 wickets in T20Is while India has lost by 10 wickets.

Shaheen Afridi said in the post-match presentation, “It is the good wishes of my parents and all Pakistanis. Very happy with my performance. The plan was to bring the ball back in. I was just trying to swing it and I was just looking to give the team a breakthrough. That was what I practiced in the nets as well yesterday. Batting against the new ball was tough. The credit goes to Babar and Rizwan for the way they played. All teams are good in the tournament and we will look to carry this momentum through and go to the finals”.

Afridi has a phenomenal record in T20Is and he was able to deliver at the big stage for his team. The left-arm pacer will look to continue his good form and he is going to hold the key for Pakistan.

Pakistan will aim to continue their winning momentum and this win will certainly add a shot in the arm to the team. On the other hand, India will look to bounce back stronger in their second game.

Pakistan will next face New Zealand on Tuesday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.