Watch: Shaheen Shah Afridi dismantled Babar Azam’s stumps with a beautiful delivery as the titans of Pakistan cricket did battle in the PSL.
Facing his first ball from Shaheen in the third over of the match, the pace-man already having taken a wicket in his first over, Babar picked up a single before he was back on strike two balls later. He played a glorious drive down the ground to a full delivery, timing it perfectly to race away to the boundary for four.
“That’s a beautiful shot, that’s so trademark Babar Azam,” said Bazid Khan on commentary.
Shaheen struck back with his next delivery, however, bowling a superb delivery which pitched on middle stump and straightened to go through Babar between his bat and pad, crashing into the stumps. Shaheen looked to the sky, both arms outstretched in his classic celebration, with Babar only able to walk back to the dugout.
The wicket left Peshawar Zalmi 28-2 chasing 242 after Lahore Qalandars hit the most sixes in any team innings in the PSL having opted to bat first. Tom Kohler-Cadmore spearheaded a brisk recovery for Peshawar after their early losses, hitting a 23-ball 55 which included five sixes.
Valiant efforts from Saim Ayub, who also hit fifty, and cameos from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Rovman Powell brought Peshawar up to near the 200-mark. But the total was inevitably too big in the end and they fell 40 runs short after finishing on 201-9.
Watch: Shaheen dismantles Babar’s stumps with beauty in clash of the Pakistan titans below
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The riveting battle between two of the finest cricketers in the world 💫#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/svSx7KcUn4
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 26, 2023
