Shaheen Afridi was the recipient of the Player of the Match award for his performance in Pakistan’s win over India after delivering a breath-taking new-ball spell that included the cheap dismissals of both India openers.
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After Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field, India were reduced to 6-2 after the game’s first 13 balls. While India mounted an admirable recovery – they eventually posted a total of 151-7 – but it wasn’t nearly enough as Babar and Mohammad Rizwan put together an unbroken stand to give Pakistan a historic 10-wicket victory.
In and amongst Pakistan’s overall excellence, there was one moment during the India innings where Pakistan momentarily let their standards drop with the otherwise brilliant Shaheen the guilty party.
Off a free hit, Shaheen dug in a bouncer to Hardik Pandya, outside the batter’s off-stump, beating the India No. 6 for pace. Given that it was the last ball of the over and his partner at the crease was bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the batters attempted to steal a cheeky single.
Rizwan’s throw missed the stumps with the ball landing with Shaheen. Shaheen, sensing an opportunity to run out the scampering Hardik, threw the ball to the non-striker’s end, not only missing the target but evading the fielder backing up, handing India four more runs. The ‘five’ – unfortunately for Rizwan – went down as byes.
You can watch the moment below:
