Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi delivered a remarkable performance in Kandy on Saturday, creating a magical spell that unsettled the Indian batsmen during the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 match at the Pallekele International Stadium. Afridi, who completed his full quota of 10 overs, secured 4 wickets while conceding only 35 runs. The left-arm seamer not only bowled 2 maidens but also crucially dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, causing a disruption in the Indian top order once again.
As Pakistan fans celebrated Afridi's exceptional display, it was the former Prime Minister of the neighboring country, Shehbaz Sharif, who attracted attention with his cryptic tweets.
Following Shaheen's successful dismissals of both Sharma and Kohli, Sharif took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to boldly highlight the bowler's name in capital letters.
"SHAHEEN," Sharif wrote.
However, after the initial fumbles,
As Shaheen Shaf Afridi returned to bowl his final spell, he clinched crucial wickets, including those of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
Once more, Shehbaz Sharif lauded the bowler and took a swipe at the Indian batsmen. In a quote tweet of his previous post, Sharif reiterated in capital letters, “THEY CANNOT PLAY HIM”.
Sharif gets trolled
Netizens were not quite happy with Sharif's tweets. Not only Indian fans, but Pakistanis as well slammed and mocked Sharif for his tweets.
"Tusee mulk di fikar karro (You look after the country)," one user wrote below Sharif's tweet.
Another user asked, "Office me kaam nahi hai kya Bhai? (Don't you have any work in office?"
"Mulk ka diwaliya nikal kr bahir bhaga howa hay bhagora (After bankrupting the country, he has run away from the country," one more user said.
Another social media handle, mocking the Ex-PM for seeking loans from IMF, wrote below his tweet, “THEY CANNOT PAY US”.
Another user wrote, "Tu hi panoti hai (You are the curse)"
India post 266 in first Asia cup match
The impressive rescue effort by Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan allowed India to overcome a blistering opening spell from Shaheen Shah Afridi and post a respectable total of 266 against Pakistan in their Asia Cup match on Saturday.
Kishan, who scored 82 runs off 81 balls, and Pandya, who contributed 87 runs off 90 balls, managed to thwart the Pakistan bowlers with a resilient 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket, spanning 141 deliveries. This partnership gave their team a strong chance of commencing the tournament with a victory.
They came together after Pakistan's pacers, led by Afridi (who dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early on), along with Haris Rauf, combined forces to reduce India to a precarious 66 for 4 in 14.1 overs.
In many ways, it was an unusual role for both Pandya and Kishan, as they typically prefer to attack the bowlers aggressively. However, the conditions at Pallekele, which occasionally experienced light rain, coupled with a formidable bowling attack, demanded that the Indian duo exercise caution in their shot selection and display additional patience.
Afridi, with figures of 4 for 35, exhibited significant movement in the air, Naseem Shah tested their judgment outside the off-stump, and Rauf, with 3 for 58, delivered some punishing bouncers. Nevertheless, the Indian pair absorbed all these challenging moments.
