Pakistan’s ODI captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, delivered an outstanding bowling performance in the National Champions Cup final. He picked up 7 wickets for just 36 runs in 8.3 overs, which also included a hat-trick.
Thanks to his match-winning spell, Pakistan Gold defeated Shadab Khan’s Pakistan Greens by 101 runs in the final played in Multan on August 18. This also marked Shaheen’s best bowling figures in List A cricket.
Pakistan Gold Posts 340 Runs
Shaheen Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first. For Pakistan Gold, openers Shamyl Hussain and Saad Khan both scored brilliant centuries.
Shamyl made 111 runs off 93 balls with 11 fours and 4 sixes. Saad scored 112 runs off 102 balls, also hitting 11 fours and 4 sixes. Together, their knocks helped Pakistan Gold reach a strong total of 340. Pakistan Greens used 9 different bowlers during the innings, including Fakhar Zaman.
Shaheen Strikes in the Middle Overs
Chasing 340, Pakistan Greens lost early wickets. Mubasir Khan dismissed Fakhar Zaman in the eighth over, while Razaullah removed Omair Yousuf. Saad Baig fought back with 67 runs off 51 balls, but Faisal Akram got him out to leave Greens at 147/3 in 21.4 overs.
Although Shaheen did not get any wickets with the new ball, he made a major impact in the middle overs. He dismissed Mohammad Suleman and Farhan Yousuf, with both batters caught at deep square leg by Abdul Samad. He then took the wicket of captain Shadab Khan, reducing Greens to 167/6 in 26.5 overs.
Wickets and a Hat-Trick Wrap Up the Win
Naseem Shah and Faheem Ashraf added 61 runs for the seventh wicket to put up a brief fight. However, Shaheen returned in the 36th over and broke the partnership by having Naseem caught behind.
In his next over, Shaheen trapped Mehran Mumtaz leg-before-wicket (LBW). On the following ball, he removed Salman Mirza with a catch-and-bowl dismissal. On the hat-trick ball, he clean-bowled Mohammad Hasnain to finish the game. Pakistan Greens were bowled out for 239 runs in 37.3 overs, handing Pakistan Gold a 101-run win.
Why Is Shaheen Out of the Test Team?
Despite his strong domestic form, Shaheen is currently not part of Pakistan’s Test match plans.
Because of this, he was not picked for the three-match Test series against England starting on August 19. He was also left out of the earlier Test series against the West Indies under Babar Azam’s captaincy.
