Pakistan have finally ended their drought of hitting sixes in the powerplay. Opening batter Abdullah Shafique did the honors during match 22 of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Pakistan didn’t hit six in the powerplays for a long period in ODIs but the wait is now over. He smashed a big hit in the 5th over of the game against Naveen-ul-Haq. The fast bowler bowled a short delivery to which the batter judged the length early on.
Abdullah Shafique brought out the pull and smashed the shot over deep square leg for a maximum. As he hit the six, there was a huge cheer in the stands and teammates in the dugout erupted in joy and were clapping loudly. This was Pakistan’s first six in the powerplay after 1169 balls.
Here’s the video:
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If this was not enough, Abdullah Shafique hit another six to make it two sixes in the powerplay so far. He smashed Mujeeb ur Rahman for a maximum in the 8th over as he played the lofted drive over long-off to put his team at the top.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq (17) batted magnificently well and added 56 runs for the opening partnership before the left-hander yet again perished to short ball. This was also the first time when they didn’t lose a wicket in the powerplay in ICC World Cup 2023.
PAK vs NZ: Pakistan and Afghanistan playing 11 for match 22 of ICC World Cup 2023; Abdullah Shafique features
Pakistan have made one change to their XI from the last game. They have brought Shadab Khan back in the mix after dropping him from the last game. Mohammad Nawaz has been left out of the game against Afghanistan.
Here’s the Pakistan XI:
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf
Afghanistan have made a bold change to their XI. They are playing with the four spinners in the game. Noor Ahmad has been included in the team in place of Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Here’s the Afghanistan playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad
The post PAK vs AFG: Watch – Abdullah Shafique’s Six Ends Pakistan’s Drought Of Powerplay Maximums appeared first on CricketAddictor.
