Watch: Shaheen Shah Afridi snapped Mohammad Haris’ bat clean in two before removing his off-stump next ball with a perfect yorker in a sensational opening over.
Off the first ball of Peshawar Zalmi’s chase against Lahore Qalandars, Shaheen sent down a searing delivery which caused Haris to signal for a new bat. Faced with a length ball wide of off stump, Haris tried to play the ball through cover. But, upon impact with the ball, his bat split in two – breaking just above its sweet spot.
The bottom half of the bat cartwheeled down the pitch, with the ball hitting the non-striker’s stumps to add to the confusion. There were some half-hearted appeals from the Lahore Qalandar fielders and Shaheen.
Once Haris had a new bat delivered to him out in the middle, he faced up to Shaheen’s next delivery to kick off Peshawar Zalmi’s chase. However, Pakistan’s premier pace-man served up a nailed-on scorching yorker, which Haris could do little with to stop the ball from castling into his off-stump. Fast and nipping back in, it was a special delivery from Shaheen, who celebrated the dismissal in his signature style, with both arms raised in the air.
The wicket was a disastrous start for Peshawar Zalmi in a huge chase. Batting first, Qalandars posted the third-highest score ever in the history of the Pakistan Super League. Fakhar Zaman had scored a sensational 96 from 45-balls, along with Abdullah Shafique’s 75 off 41 and Sam Billings’ 23-ball 47 to reach 241-3.
When Babar Azam was dismissed in the third over to leave Peshawar 28-2, the chase looked like it could be over before it really started. But a rapid 21-ball half-century from Tom Kohler-Cadmore kept them in the game at the halfway point of the innings. He was dismissed by Haris Rauf for 55.
Watch: Shaheen Shah Afridi snaps Mohammad Haris’ bat, crashes into off-stump next ball with perfect yorker below
First ball: Bat broken ⚡
Second ball: Stumps rattled 🎯PACE IS PACE, YAAR 🔥🔥#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/VetxGXVZqY
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 26, 2023