The sole batter to reach fifty in Peshawar Zalmi’s innings, Haris pulled out the shot as he looked to give his side a big finish. Facing a slower ball on a length from Shaheen, Haris kept a low stance front on to the bowler as the ball came towards him. Rather than rotate the bat in his hands for a traditional scoop shot, he kept it with the sharp side facing up. He guided the ball down to third man off the outside portion of the triangle, just over the fielder’s head.

Shaheen walked back to his mark with his arms over his face in frustration. He finished the innings with expensive figures of 1-41.

On commentary Simon Doull was in disbelief at the shot: “Back of the bat,” he said. “That is off the back of the bat deliberately!”

Haris was dismissed for 85 off the last ball of the over by Shaheen, pinging a waist-high full toss high up in the air to the fine-leg fielder. There was some drama after Fakhar Zaman had taken the catch as the third umpire checked whether the delivery was a no ball on height, but it was deemed a fair delivery.

Zalmi went on to post 171-5 in the first innings, Babar Azam their second highest scorer with 42 off 36.

Watch: Muhammad Haris pulls off deliberate, back-of-the-bat scoop off Shaheen to cap off stellar PSL Eliminator knock

An absolutely silly shot from Muhammad Harris 🤯#PSL pic.twitter.com/GjNQFe9a9u

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 17, 2023