Naseem Shah Repeats History Delivers an Exquisite Performance in Pakistan vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI
Naseem Shah repeats history throws his helmet, gloves, and bat in the air and starts running in
the ground with a mix of joy and anger after winning a thrilling match for Pakistan in the last over, with running emotions of happiness and frustration.
A year ago, the story isn’t about the T20 match played between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup; rather, it’s about the second match of the series held in Sri Lanka between the two teams.
Pakistan dealt Afghanistan a defeat by just one run on Thursday. The story of this One Day match had everything: a brilliant century, half-centuries, a succession of wickets, controversial run-outs, and last-over drama.
However, in this match, Naseem Shah stunned everyone with his batting once again. In the last over, when Pakistan needed 11 runs to win and Shadab Khan was already out as a non-striker on the last ball, Naseem Shah managed to achieve this target with the help of two boundaries on the second last ball of the match.
With this victory, Pakistan has stamped its authority on an important series before the World Cup and the Asia Cup.
Played in the city of Hambantota, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first. They scored 300 runs for the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 50 overs.
In response, Pakistan achieved this target in the last over of the match. At one point, it felt like Pakistan would easily reach this target, but Babar Azam’s dismissal on a half-century and wickets falling one after the other led Pakistan’s middle order to struggle. The match reached eleven runs needed on the last over.
From Pakistan’s side,
Shadab Khan’s excellent 48 runs and the half-centuries of Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam stood out.
However, what’s being discussed most at the moment is Shadab Khan’s run-out and Naseem Shah’s brilliant batting once again in the last over. Let’s talk about Shadab Khan’s run-out first, which happened at a crucial moment in the match.
Was Shadab Khan’s run-out at the non-striker’s end controversial?
This incident occurred before the start of the last over of the match when Afghan players were huddled around bowler Fazil Haq Farooqi.
At the beginning of the previous over, Pakistan
needed 27 runs from 12 balls with only two batsmen left at the crease. However, due to Shadab Khan’s aggressive batting, Pakistan managed to score 16 runs in that over, leaving them with 11 runs needed to win.
In this brief meeting, the argument might also be raised that Shadab Khan had left his crease before, and since he was at the non-
striker’s end, he could potentially be run out from the bowler’s end.
Run-out at the non-striker’s end has a long history. This dates back to India’s tour of Australia in 1947-48 when Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad had run out Australian opener Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end twice during their Test matches, once in a side match and once in an
actual Test match between the two teams. At that time, Australian media labeled this mode of dismissal as ‘Mankading’ and criticized it.
However, legendary batsmen and then Australian captain Don Bradman mentioned in his book ‘Farewell to Cricket’ that “If the batsman at the non-striker’s end does not wait for the bowler to deliver the ball, he is not being fair
to the fielding side. Therefore, it is not unfair for the bowler to run him out in such cases.” Despite this defense, the term ‘Mankading’ stuck and was used as a mark of criticism.
But, after the change in the rules by the ICC in 2022, bowlers are now officially allowed to run out the batsman at the non-striker’s end before delivering the
ball. However, the controversy still remains, and some individuals and players believe that it goes against the spirit of cricket. Some argue that batsmen should be warned before such a dismissal, while others argue that it’s fair for bowlers to use this tactic within the rules.
Opinions are still divided on this matter, and whenever
such a run-out occurs, it sparks debates on social media, which is ongoing even now.
What happened in Afghanistan’s innings?
From Afghanistan’s side, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran batted confidently, while Pakistan’s experienced bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi seemed helpless alongside Haris Rauf.
The highlight of this match was Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s splendid century. With the help of three sixes and fourteen boundaries, he played a remarkable inning of 151 runs off 151 balls.
Afghanistan, which was dismissed at a total score of 59 in the previous match, displayed great confidence this time and no Pakistani bowler managed to get success until the 40th over of the match.
However, in the 40th over of the match, Pakistan’s spin bowler Usama Mir managed to dismiss opener Ibrahim Zadran by delivering a clean bowl. He faced 101 balls, scored 80 runs with the help of two fours and six sixes.
After Ibrahim Zadran’s dismissal, senior player Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan Cricket Team walked in to partner with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz until the 45th over of the match. In the last over of the match, Mohammad Nabi scored 29 runs off 29 balls before getting caught out by Imam-ul-Haq on Naseem Shah’s delivery.
However, after Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s dismissal, in the final moments of the match, Rashed Khan came in to partner with Mohammad Nabi, but he managed to score only two runs before getting caught out by Shadab Khan off Wahab Riaz’s delivery.
Naseem Shah repeat history proved to be a nightmare for Afghanistan.
At this moment, most users on social media are reminiscing about the victory Pakistan achieved over Afghanistan in the Asia Cup a year ago. Naseem Shah had secured Pakistan’s victory by hitting two consecutive boundaries in the last over.
A user wrote while remembering this victory, “What Naseem Shah did after taking Asghar Ali’s wicket at that time, today he repeated that by getting Shadab Khan run out.”
#PakvsAfg What a match but the way Afghan bowler runout Shahdab was in bad taste. In the end all credit to Naseem who kept his cool and hit the winning boundry.
— Mazhar Abbas (@MazharAbbasGEO) August 24, 2023
Another user wrote, “Naseem Shah has once again become a terrifying dream for Afghanistan.”
Opinions are divided about
Shadab Khan’s run-out at the non-striker’s end. Some believe there shouldn’t even be a debate about it, while others consider it against the spirit of cricket and something Afghan bowlers shouldn’t have done.
One user commented, “The funeral of Support of Cricket has taken place now.”
Spirit of Cricket just died, Shadab Khan is Gone. #PAKvAFG #AFGvPAK #PakvsAfg pic.twitter.com/pxgGtS6pyU
— Shaharyar Ejaz 🏏 (@SharyOfficial) August 24, 2023
An Indian user wrote, “I’ll
definitely watch the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Chennai ; it will be a fierce contest.”
