Watch: Rahmunallah Gurbaz pulls Shaheen Afridi for six with front leg in the air to drive flying start for Afghanistan
Watch: Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz took on Shaheen Afridi at the start of the second ODI between Afghanistan and Pakistan today (August 24), pulling him for an audacious six followed by two fours in the fifth over of the innings.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first after suffering a humiliating defeat in the first ODI where they were bundled out for their second-lowest total ever in ODI history, 59.
Ibrahim Zadran and Gurbaz gave them a solid start this time around, countering the red-hot Pakistan seam trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
Gurbaz took a special liking to Afridi in his third over, the fifth of the innings. A short ball angled across the right-hander from over the wicket was pulled with disdain over the square leg fence for six by Gurbaz off the first ball of the fifth over.
He then followed it up with a boundary, helping a misdirected short ball on his hips, this time to the left of the fine-leg fielder. Three dot balls later, what was supposed to be the final ball of the over was pulled for another four towards the square leg region, and to make matters worse, it turned out Afridi had overstepped.
Luckily for Afridi and Pakistan, Gurbaz wasn’t able to take full toll of the free hit and only managed a leg bye. However, with a 15-run over against the leader of the Pakistan bowling attack early in the innings, Gurbaz was able to transfer the pressure back to the fielding side, allowing the opening pair to settle down nicely. After 12 overs, the Afghan score read 54-0.
Watch Rahmanullah Gurbaz take on Shaheen Afridi and hit him for a six and two fours early in the innings:
.@RGurbaz_21 goes big 🙌#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvPAK | #SuperColaCup | #ByaMaidanGato pic.twitter.com/Mp0CceacDa
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 24, 2023
“This is what @RGurbaz_21 can do” #AfghanAtalan | #AFGvPAK | #SuperColaCup | #ByaMaidanGato pic.twitter.com/0XCgBIiw4Y
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 24, 2023
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