Shaheen Shah Afridi made Akram’s statement that he did not trust Pakistani fielders come strangely true.
During the second ODI between Australia and Pakistan in Adelaide, a legendary bowler from Pakistan hinted about an event. On commentary, Akram was informed that in his time, he and his pace bowling partner Waqar Younis would trap batters leg-before-wicket and send stumps flying. “That’s because the bowlers didn’t trust the Pakistani fielders, so they’d have to get the wickets by themselves,” laughed Akram. In a strange coincidence, Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan proved Akram’s sarcasm to be frighteningly accurate as she dropped a catch in the very next ball of the current game.
“We had no faith in our field players. Akram said, “We only heard ‘Sorry’ from the slip cordon or ‘We didn’t see the ball.'”
On the very next ball, Wasim Akram revealed to us that he couldn’t rely on his fielders. Instagram: pic.twitter.com/iZpa4rvhRx
By Triple M Cricket (@triplemcricket) on November 8, 2024
In the ongoing match, Akram’s claim was almost quickly validated. After attempting to hook Naseem Shah, Australian starter Matthew Short’s shot ended up landing squarely on Shaheen Afridi’s field. Sadly, Afridi failed to make the catch, which sparked a commotion in the commentary box.
“Exactly (in reference to his earlier remarks).” Akram bemoaned the fact that Shaheen Shah Afridi did not judge the height, which could have altered the game and placed a lot of pressure on Australia.
Despite the amazing coincidence of a dropped catch during Akram’s discussion of the same problem, Pakistan had little difficulty during the match. In order to make up for his missed catch, Shaheen Afridi took Matthew Short’s wicket.
Pakistan bowled out Australia for just 163 runs, with Shaheen taking three and Haris Rauf taking five wickets. Pakistan easily reached the goal, with Saim Ayub leading the way with a scorching 82 off 71 balls that included five boundaries and six sixes.
Pakistan entered the final match of the three-match ODI series tied at 1-1 after their victory. As Pakistan’s new white ball captain, it was also Mohammad Rizwan’s maiden victory.
