Watch: Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a brilliant penultimate over to keep Pakistan’s chances alive in their one-off T20I against Australia at Lahore.
Australia eventually won the game quite comfortably, with Ben McDermott sealing the deal with a boundary off the first ball of the 20th over. However, their pursuit of the target wasn’t always smooth, even though they were well ahead, for the most part, needing less than run-a-ball in their last nine overs. They needed merely five off the last 12 balls, but a special effort from Shaheen Afridi ensured that the hosts had some chance in the game.
He first got Aaron Finch off the opening ball of the penultimate over, with the batter perishing in an effort to send the ball past the deep midwicket boundary. Off the fourth ball of the over, Shaheen got one to curve in towards Sean Abbott and beat him for pace, grounding his off stump in the process. In all, he gave only one run for two wickets.
Dermott, though, kept his calm, and took them over the line in the final over.
You can watch the two dismissals here:
Shaheen gets Finch, again! #BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/6KDBKqEeCq
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) April 5, 2022
What a sight! #BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/4ZOTlBTk7j
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) April 5, 2022