T20 World Cup 2021: Shaheen Afridi's blistering spell against India voted as the Play of the Tournament by the ICC

Shaheen Afridi was in red hot form in Pakistan’s first Super 12 match of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup against India. The left-arm pacer scalped 3 wickets in his 4-over spell and rattled the Indian top order. Afridi picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli and applied the brakes on the Indian batting lineup.

While Rohit Sharma was trapped in front of the stumps by a deadly yorker from the left-arm pacer, KL Rahul was castled by another superb delivery from Afridi. Afridi then picked up the wicket of Indian skipper and batting legend Virat Kohli.

Afridi bowled a slower delivery, and Kohli nicked the ball to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps. And, this blistering spell of fast bowling from Afridi was voted as the Play of the Tournament. Afridi’s spell helped Pakistan thrash India with 10 wickets to spare.

“The winner of the Play of the Tournament from the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is Shaheen Afridi’s blistering opening spell against India,” tweeted the official handle of the International Cricket Council.

You can see the tweet from the ICC below

The winner of the @Nissan Play of the Tournament from the 2021 ICC Men's #T20WorldCup is:

Shaheen Afridi's blistering opening spell against India 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uv94PnVd89

— ICC (@ICC) November 17, 2021

Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup

The Pakistan cricket team qualified for the semi-finals stages of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. The ‘Men in Green’ won all their 5 matches in the Super 12 stages of the tournament. However, in the semi-finals, they went down to eventual champions Australia.

On the other hand, India could not qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament. Apart from losing to Pakistan, Virat Kohli and his men also lost to the New Zealand side in the Super 12 stages as well.

Australia emerged as the champions of the 2021 T20 World Cup and beat New Zealand in the final. Even though the Kiwis posted a good total of 172 on the board, the kangaroos chased down the target with 8 wickets in hand.