Lahore: Not only Shahid Afridi but also Shaheen Shah Afridi, the latest sensation in Pakistan cricket, will be batting! Shaheen Afridi has batted for the Lahore qualifiers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) this season. Shaheen Afridi’s batting explosion in the final over of the match almost secured the defeat, giving Gaddafi Stadium 23 runs in Lahore! It was accompanied by a four and three sixes. Afridi took the last ball to the gallery without hitting the ground and extended the life of the Lahore Qualifiers to a super over in the match.
Peshawar Salmi won the toss and elected to bat, scoring 158 for seven in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, the Qualanders were 129 for six in 18 overs.
They needed 30 runs in the last two overs to win. Mohammad Hafeez scored 49 off 43 balls at the crease. But Peshawar Salmi captain Wahab Riaz Lahore was bowled out in the 19th over.
Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed in the first ball and Harris Rauf in the third. In that over, Lahore scored just six runs, including a four off Afridi’s leg bye. The result is 24 runs needed to win the last over!
It was in this over thrown by Mohammad Umar that junior Afridi became perhaps ‘senior Afridi’. Umar started the over with Afridi Waka four off the second ball. Three and four balls crossed the boundary without hitting the ground. The second six of them make even the top order batters jealous.
The target was seven runs off three balls. Mohammad Omar, who regained the tie, returned with a fine yorker and was unbeaten on the next two balls. With this, Lahore needed six runs in the last ball to capture at least a super over. Once again, Afridi slammed the ball and the ball crossed the boundary without hitting the ground. Afridi, who scored 23 runs in the last over, was the top scorer in the Super Over!
In the super over, however, Peshawar Salmi Lahore was dismissed. Batting first, Lahore were bowled out for five by Peshawar skipper Wahab Riaz. Shaheen Afridi bowled a super over for Lahore but the first two balls were bowled by Shuaib Malik to give Peshawar Salmi the victory.
English Summary: Shaheen Afridi Smashes 23 In The Final Over To Force Super Over
