Asia Cup 2018: An ODI debut to remember for Pakistan young pacer Shaheen Afridi

Denzil Pinto 21:39 21/09/2018
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  • Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi picked up two wickets on Friday

    The wait for an ODI cap was finally over for Shaheen Afridi as the 18-year-old pacer made his debut against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup Super Four clash on Friday.

    Afridi was given his cap by Pakistan’s bowling coach Azhar Mahmood prior to the game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and it was a debut to remember as the youngster claimed two wickets. However, it should have been more had it not been for dropped opportunities from his team-mates.

    Here, we take a closer look at the bowling performance of Pakistan’s rising star:

    OVERS BOWLED: 10

    RUNS CONCEDED: 38

    WICKETS: 2

    MAIDENS: 0

    ECONOMY-RATE: 3.80

    30-SECOND REPORT:

    He didn’t have to wait long to show what he can do with Sarfraz Ahmed giving him the ball in just the second over. Bowled full and straight, offering just two runs in his opening spell. The teenager continued to keep the batsmen quiet, giving away four runs in his next 12 deliveries. Even under pressure, he kept his cool and although he was dropped thrice by Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan and Haris Sohail, was rewarded with the important wicket of Asghar Afghan. Struck again to remove Mohammad Nabi.

    GOT RIGHT:

    With three T20Is and PSL experience under his belt, Afridi wasn’t fazed by the pressure and that showed whenever he had the ball. Bowled a variation of deliveries that troubled the Afghanistani batsmen with excellent length and bounce. That forced Afghanistan batsmen to play defensively during that spell, rather than attacking the pacer. The pressure was on in the last 10 overs of the innings but even after he was smashed for a six by Afghan, he stuck to his guns.

    GOT WRONG:

    There’s not much you can fault from the young pacer. He kept to his strengths and delivered, and while he beared the pain of crucial boundaries from Asghar Afghan and Mohammad Nabi towards the end of the innings, ultimately he had the final say with their dismissals.

    VERDICT: 7/10

    As far as debuts are concerned, it was a dream start for the left-arm pacer, who should be pleased with how he fared in the UAE capital. Was consistent with the ball and the fact that he conceded just three boundaries tells you everything you need to know. Given his age and potential, he will surely add to his ODI cap tally and possibly a selection dilemma for Mickey Arthur ahead of the crunch game against arch rivals India on Sunday.

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