.Shaheen Afridi may be known as a match winner with the ball in hand but on Monday, he put on his batting hat to force a Super Over in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by smashing 23 runs in the last over of the match.
Afridi, who is captain of the Lahore Qalandars in the league, came in at No.8 in their match against Peshawar Zalmi. His team seemed to be down and out while chasing a target of 159 and had been reduced to 94/6 at one point. Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz then took two wickets in the 19th over, including that of all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez who had scored 49 in 44 balls, thus leaving the Qalandars needing 24 to win in the last over.
Mohammad Umar sent the first ball wide after which Afridi hit the first ball for four and the next two for consecutive sixes. Umar then managed to get in two dot balls but Afridi sent the last one sailing for a six and forced a Super Over. He ended the match with 39 runs off 20 balls, hitting two fours and four sixes.
Shahid Afridi, whose daughter Aqsa is engaged to Shaheen, took note of the Pakistan fast bowler’s feat on Twitter. “SHAHEEN AFRIDIIII YOU BEAUTYYY!!!” he tweeted with a collage of him celebrating with a team while playing for Pakistan and of Shaheen celebrating the moment.
However, the Qalandars could not convert that opportunity into a win. Wahab managed to give just four runs in the Super Over, leaving Zalmi with just five runs to win the match. Shoaib Malik took them over the line with ease.