Pakistan’s star speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi is currently plying his trade in the Vitality Blast where he scalped four wickets in the first over against Birmingham Bulls while playing for Nottinghamshire. Despite Shaheen’s heroics with the ball, Nottinghamshire lost the match by two wickets in a rain-affected match. However, it was not a good Strat for Shaheen as he conceded five wides with his first ball but then took wickets with his first, second, fifth, and sixth deliveries.
It was Birmingham’s skipper Alex Davies who fell on the ground after he failed to decode Shaheen’s lethal yorker. Chris Benjamin was the next batter who was clean bowled as he was looking to play the scoop. Shaheen then conceded two singles and picked up another two wickets off the final two balls with Dan Mousley and Ed Barnard were the other victims.
“We deserved to win but they played well in the last few overs after the rain. It was the first time I took four wickets in my first over. It was good but if we would have won the game that would have been nice. Unfortunately we lost,” Shaheen said after the match.
“It felt really nice the way crowd was supporting me. When I was running in it felt like I am playing in Pakistan. I have spent good time with my teammates, it is like a family.
“Rain delay affected the game. It changed the game. We were not able to grip the ball but that’s cricket you can’t control the weather,” he added.
Despite Shaheen’s superb show with the ball, Nottinghamshire lost the match by two wickets. Rob Yates (65 off 46b) and some crucial contributions from Maxwell (19), Jacob Bethell (27), and Jake Lintott (27 not out) helped Birmingham win the match. After being invited to bat first, Nottinghamshire were restricted to just 168 runs with Tom Moores (73) being the top run-getter for his side. Pakistan speedster Hasan Ali (3/25) was the star with the ball. Spinners Jake Lintott (3/27) and Glenn Maxwell (2/20)n shared five wickets between them.
For Birmingham Bulls, Pakistan speedster Hasan Ali (3/25) was the pick of the bowlers. The spin duo of Jake Lintott (3/27) and Glenn Maxwell (2/20)n shared five wickets between them.