Shaheen Shah Afridi's Historic Five-For vs Australia Enrolls Him In Elite Club For Pakistan At The World Cup

To call last night’s match-up between Australia and Pakistan a slogfest would be an understatement. The opening pair of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh lit the Pakistan bowling attack and the Bangalore skies on fire, smashing boundaries and sixes at will.

The starring role in the win was played by opening batter David Warner, who made a 124-ball 163 that contained 14 fours and nine sixes. The southpaw was involved in a 259-run opening wicket stand with Mitchell Marsh, and the two made a mockery of the Pakistan’s bowlers in what can only be called a blitzkrieg.

READ: ‘We Couldn’t Finish… Hopefully We Will Learn’: Abdullah Shafique On Pakistan’s Defeat vs Australia

In the midst of it all, one man rose to the occasion and managed to put the brakes on the Australian ranks to provide Pakistan some relief. Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Amongst a flurry of bowlers who were blitzed for runs galore, the left-arm pacer had a sensational outing, scalping 5 wickets for a respectable 54 runs in 10 overs, and was instrumental in providing Pakistan a fighter’s chance.

With his showing last night, Afridi became only the second Pakistan bowler to take 2 five-wicket hauls in the history of the World Cup, and the first Pakistani pacer to produce two five-fors in the World Cup.

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The more interesting and unique tidbit here is the fact that the only other bowler to register two five-fors for Pakistan in the World Cup is none other than Shaheen’s father-in-law and former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi.

Shaheen’s first five-for came in the 2019 World Cup, where he produced the best bowling figures ever by a Pakistani bowler in the tournament’s history, garnering 6/35 against Bangladesh.

His father-in-law, Shahid Afridi, procured both of his five-fors in the 2011 World Cup where he produced figures of 5/16 against Kenya and 5/23 against Canada.

Alas Shaheen’s prolific outing had relatively little effect on the outcome as Australia hammered the rest of the Pakistani bowling ranks to post a mammoth total of 367/9, setting Pakistan up for the biggest-ever run chase in the history of the World Cup.

But, the Pakistan batting order fell short as well to the likes of spinster Adam Zampa and the Aussies bowled out Pakistan to win the match by 62 runs.