BAN vs PAK: Shaheen Afridi hugs it out with Afif Hossain after hurting him with dangerous throw

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi hugged it out with Afif Hossain after he knocked down the batter with a violent throw during the two teams’ encounter on November 20 at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Afridi was smacked for a six by Hossain in the third over of the Bangladesh innings, which was followed by a fuller delivery that the southpaw played straight into the hands of the bowler. Despite being well inside his crease and a complete absence of any opportunity of a run-out, Afridi launched a throw towards Hossain, which whammed straight into his ankle before he fell on the ground in evident pain.

Afridi tendered an apology immediately as the physios came in and checked on Hossain, who was eventually perished to Shadab Khan for a 21-ball 20. Meanwhile, after the game, Afridi was seen shaking hands in a warm display of sportsmanship.

Shaheen Shah Afridi went up to Afif Hossain post-match 👏👏 #SpiritofCricket pic.twitter.com/F1dO6F8gn0

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 20, 2021

As for the proceedings, Pakistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with an eight-wicket win, having won the series-opener at the same venue on November 19 by four wickets. Bangladesh opted to bat for the second time in a row, and were kept down an underwhelming 108/7, which Pakistan chased on the back of Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 57 off 51 alongside Mohammad Rizwan’s sedate 39 off 45 on another sluggish surface.

That it was not the easiest of tracks to bat on was well-highlighted when Pakistan took 18.1 overs to chase down the target. “The way wicket was playing, it was not easy early on to play my shots and with time, we were trying to build a partnership, and we succeeded,” Player of the Match Zaman said after the match.

“Thankfully, we finished it. To be honest, it was better than yesterday’s surface but still not the ideal track for us. Whenever you play outside your country, it’s very important to win games. We will keep trying hard in the next game too,” he added.

“The series win is a team effort. The boys responded well as a unit and we carried forward the momentum (from the WC). Bowlers did really well, especially in the last 10 overs and it always helps when you get wickets in bunches,” Babar Azam, the winning skipper said.