Shaheen Afridi, on Sunday (June 16), gave Pakistan a solid start by castling Ireland’s Andrew Balbirnie with an absolute beauty in the ongoing 36th game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Both teams will face each other in the Central Broward. Regional Park Stadium grass field, Lauderhill, Florida.
The Pakistan spearhead had struggled to make an impact in his team’s previous three matches. In the first match against the United States, he conceded 33 runs and failed to pick up any wickets. In the second game against arch-rivals India, the left-arm pacer took 1 wicket and conceded 29 runs in a low-scoring game. In the third game against Canada, he again took 1 wicket and gave away 21 runs.
However, he looked in good rhythm on Sunday as he gave Pakistan a solid start. Their captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first. Shaheen Afridi picked up two wickets in the first over to shake up Ireland’s top order. He first saw off Andrew Balbirnie with an absolute peach.
After bowling two dot balls to start the over, Shaheen Afridi returned the Ireland opener to duck off the third ball. The Pakistan star bowled a long delivery which was bowled before advancing at the last moment and Balbirnie tried to advance but was unable to make contact with the ball. The ball passed through the large gap between bat and pad to break the stumps.
Watch Shaheen Afridi punish Andrew Balbirnie:
In peach swinger ✅Caught behind ✅#ShaheenShahAfridi shows why he is so lethal as he cleans up 2 Ireland batsmen in his first over. 🦅#PAKvIRE | LIVE NOW | #T20WorldCupOnStar pic.twitter.com/DkherDLeNE
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 16, 2024
On the fifth ball of the same over, Shaheen Afridi struck again and brought Lorcan Tucker to one behind the stumps, which was easily caught by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. Ireland were reeling at 10 for 3 in the third over at the time of writing this report.
Meanwhile, both Pakistan and Ireland have already been eliminated from the T20 World Cup and will look to end their campaign on a winning note.