Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who on Monday became the first Pakistani to win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award, said the three-wicket win against India in the T20 World Cup last year was the most memorable performance of 2021.
Afridi removed the top three of the Indian batting line-up, including Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, taking three for 31 and playing a key role in Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory over their arch-rivals.
He said, ‘I did many good performances in Tests including five wickets. But the most memorable match for me will be the one we won against India, he told ARY news channel.
“It was a good year for me and hopefully you will see good performance in 2022 as well.”
Afridi described India’s opener KL Rahul’s wicket as his most valuable wicket in the T20 World Cup.
He said that he expected to get the wicket of Rohit Sharma early but he enjoyed the most about the dismissal of KL Rahul in the tournament in UAE.
“There was little swing and we knew we could get Rohit out early, but the ball that got Rahul out surprised me,” he said.
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The 21-year-old pacer, who achieved great success in 2021 in all three formats, including the magic of magic against India, said he was mentored by senior teammate Shoaib Malik before taking the wicket of KL Rahul.
“To be honest, the ball was not swinging that much but I was bowling at a good pace and Malik told me to pitch it and let the ball do something,” he said.
“Even I didn’t expect the ball to do so much in defense of KL Rahul. It was a big wicket for me,” Afridi said.
He also said that there is a need to produce magic balls to take wickets of quality batsmen like Rohit Sharma or Babar Azam in international cricket.
Taking Kohli’s wicket later was very satisfying for me but by then he had already scored a fifty.
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Asked repeatedly whether he thinks the Indian team is scared after the first two wickets, Afridi said he would say that they came under a lot of pressure.
Afridi, who captained the Lahore Qalandars franchise in the upcoming Pakistan Super League, also revealed how he cried after Pakistan lost the T20 World Cup semi-final to Australia.
“Yes, I cried after Matthew Wade hit me for three sixes and we lost the match. It was heartbreaking for us as a team.”
Afridi described Babar as one of the best batsmen he has bowled so far and said that he needs a special ball to get out.
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