With their brilliant centuries, Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh made a joke of Pakistan’s bowling, but bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was able to slow things down by taking five wickets on Friday.
Shaheen, a left-arm pace bowler, became just the second Pakistani bowler in World Cup history to capture two five-wicket hauls after going 5 for 54 in 10 overs. As a result of his efforts, he became the first Pakistani pacer to record two wickets in a World Cup match.
ICC World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan: Warner and Marsh each score two hundred to help Australia reach 367
It’s interesting to note that Shahid Afridi, Afridi’s father-in-law and former captain, was the only Pakistani bowler to record two five-wicket hauls in the World Cup prior to him.
The sight of Warner at Chinnaswamy Stadium was breathtaking. He had incredible power and dealt with pacers and spinners with ease, which was likely the exact fuel Australia needed to ignite their flagging campaign.
Warner also surpassed Adam Gilchrist (1085) to go up to second place among Australian ODI cricket run scorers. With 1743 runs to his credit, Ricky Ponting is at the top of this prestigious list. Warner will be hoping to maintain this fantastic rhythm in the upcoming games while also making the most of his extensive knowledge of Indian grounds for both himself and the Australian cricket team.
Excellent performance by Afridi
Early in the game, Usama Mir lost a golden opportunity that Afridi should have taken from centurion Warner.
But Afridi came through when Pakistan needed a wicket badly. He shattered Warner and Mitchell Marsh’s 259-run opening stand.
Glenn Maxwell was the next delivery after Marsh was fired.
Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood are among the other players he acquired.
This World Cup record was initially attained by a Pakistani pacer.
Afridi is the first Pakistani pacer to record two five-wicket hauls during the World Cup. He previously recorded 6/35 against Bangladesh in the 2019 competition.
Afridi and Shahid Afridi both had two five-wicket hauls for Pakistan at the World Cup.
Afridi, after Mohammad Amir (5/30, 2019 WC), is the second Pakistani bowler to record a wicket against Australia during a World Cup match, according to ESPNcricinfo.
His World Cup statistics
From nine games, Shaheen has 25 World Cup victories while only 17.08. He has two hauls of five wickets, with a four-fer. He is currently Pakistan’s seventh-highest wicket-taker in World Cup history. He has taken nine victims during the current World Cup.
His third ODI five-wicket haul belongs to Afridi.
Afridi is in his 48th ODI and has already claimed 95 victims at an average of 23.17. He recorded his third five-wicket haul in an ODI.
Shaheen has 13 kills at 17.46 in four one-day internationals against Australia.
Afridi has racked up 60 kills at 20.88 in just 29 matches on Asian soil. He has taken 47 victims from 19 games played in neutral grounds, with an average of 17.70.