Twitter reacts to Shaheen Afridi’s opening spell; Wahab Riaz and Wasim Akram elated!
Not often do we see the white ball moving around like a banana, but Shaheen Afridi produced a magical spell with the new ball. A fact that the Indian top-order is predominantly stacked with right-handed batters played in his favour, as he used the angle from over the wicket quite beautifully. While keeping the incoming delivery as a stock delivery, he bowled the outgoing delivery to great effect too.
Right from the first ball he bowled to KL Rahul, Shaheen Afridi was breathing fire. He managed to dismiss Rohit Sharma with the first of his magical incoming deliveries. The Indian opener did not move his feet quick enough and was trapped plumb in front of the stumps. Another facet in his spell was the late movement, which pretty much negated the footwork factor.
That is the exact thing that doomed Rahul in the left-arm seamer’s second over. The late inward movement was a bit too sharp for any batter’s liking, as it turns out, it was too much for one of the most in-form batters in the world. He castled Rahul’s stumps with an absolute banger, and gave Pakistan a dream start.
Virat Kohli takes on the young seamer
It is the tactical acumen of Virat Kohli that makes him one of the finest batters of all time. He was dancing down the track to Shaheen Afridi to ensure his late swing was negated, and in the few deliveries he faced against the 21-year-old, he looked on top of his game. His point of contact against the spinner was a good meter closer to the bowler than the other players.
He also shuffled across, exposing his stumps to Afridi to smack him for a huge six down the ground, which was one of the moments of the game. Kohli has not been in the best of form lately but produced a moment of magic just when the chips were down.
WATCH: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul fall prey to the brilliance of Shaheen Afridi
However, this opening spell from Shaheen was as good as it could’ve been.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to this splendid spell of Shaheen Afridi.
Shaheen you little beauty . #PakVsInd
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) October 24, 2021
Been a while since I saw a white ball swing that much….
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 24, 2021
Nasser Hussain regarding the ball that Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled to dismiss KL Rahul "I don't care what nick you are in, I don't care how many runs you've got, you ain't playing that" #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) October 24, 2021
This is absolutely incredible from Shaheen. Completely iconic. We all knew it was coming – KL and Rohit knew as well – but it doesn't mean you can stop it, and it doesn't mean it's not about as thrilling as T20 gets
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) October 24, 2021
Shaheen Shah Afridi is breathing fire in Dubai. Full, fast, swinging, targeting the stumps. Rahul & Rohit gone. #T20WorldCup
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) October 24, 2021
What a delivery to KL Rahul from Shaheen. I want to have coffee with that ball. I want to take that ball out to dinner. Buy it dessert. Introduce it to my family. Taste wedding cakes. Look at venues. Argue about guestlists. And live happily ever after with THAT ball #INDvPAK
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) October 24, 2021
SHAHEEN my boy
What great bowling!!!#PakVsInd— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) October 24, 2021
Death
Taxes
Shaheen new ball magic #PAKvIND pic.twitter.com/CD0S9XkWpZ— N I M R A (@BackfootPunchh) October 24, 2021
Not many better new ball bowlers in modern white ball cricket than Shaheen Shah Afridi. Today's spell 3-19-2 including 10 dot-balls #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/5nzinbrURu
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) October 24, 2021
As Ian Bishop says, "no one has bowled fuller (than Shaheen) in this game" so far.
That isn't exactly a trait of a tall bowler. His few overs upfront were always going to be a key point for India.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) October 24, 2021