“This will be a cakewalk”- Twitter goes bonkers as Bangladesh set low target against Pakistan courtesy of Shaheen Afridi’s 4-fer
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Shaheen Afridi
This match is important both for Bangladesh and Pakistan, as victory means, the winner will book a spot in the semi-final. However, Bangladesh posted just 127/8 on the scoreboard in their 20 overs owing to Shaheen Afridi‘s four-wicket haul on Sunday [November 6] at the Adelaide Oval.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan chose to bat first. Apart from opener Najmul Shanto’s half-century knock, no Bangladeshi batters even reached the 30-run mark.
Shaheen struck in the third over when he sent Litton Das back to the pavilion (10 runs off eight balls). Shadab Khan gave the second breakthrough by dismissing Soumya Sarkar in the 11th over. Sarkar had played a 17-ball 20-run knock. Shadab dismissed the skipper Shakib on the very next ball for a golden duck.
Shanto had scored 54 runs off 48 balls with seven fours before Iftikhar Ahmed, in the 14th over, bowled him with a slower delivery. Shanto skipped down the track to play inside out but missed it; the ball went to shatter the stumps.
Shaheen then scalped two wickets in the 17th over. Half of the Bangladeshi batters headed back to the dugout when Shaheen dismissed Mosaddek Hossain on the second ball. Hossain added just five runs off 11 balls.
On the fifth ball of the 17th over, Nurul Hasan became the victim of Shaheen’s lethal delivery for a duck. The Pakistan spearhead grabbed his fourth wicket by dismissing Taskin Ahmed in the 19th over.
All Bangladesh could put on is a mere target of 127/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Shaheen scalped four wickets, Shadab picked up two, and Haris Rauf dismissed one batter.
When South Africa locked horns with the Netherlands, they ended up losing it by 13 runs to the shock of the cricket fraternity. This rejuvenated the hope of Bangladesh and Pakistan to qualify for the semi-final. It will be interesting to see if Bangladesh can defend the low total.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s defeat helped India qualify automatically for the semi-final. The winner of Bangladesh versus Pakistan will be the second team from Group 2 to reach the desired spot.
Check how Twitter reacted to Shaheen Afridi’s four-fer
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Gouri Das
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