Asia Cup 2023: Hardik Pandya’s wicket was very crucial at that time, says Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi reckons Hardik Pandya’s wicket was very crucial at that stage of the match at Pallekele on Saturday. India was 239-5 after 43 overs and they were eyeing a total in excess of 300 with a well-settled Hardik Pandya and dangerous Ravindra Jadeja at the crease.

Pandya was batting on 87 when Afridi bamboozled the right-hander with a slower delivery from around-the-wicket angle. The Indian all-rounder could have helped India in posting a huge score but he was sent back by the lanky pacer.

In fact, Afridi also got the big wicket of Ravindra Jadeja in the same over as the left-hander got an edge to wicket-keeper, Rizwan. India lost the last five wickets for only 27 runs and they were skittled out for 266 runs after Rohit Sharma elected to bat first.

“After the big partnership, Hardik Pandya’s wicket was very crucial at that time. Had the match happened, the result was in our hands, but we can’t do anything about the weather. Overall, our performance was good,” Shaheen was quoted as saying in a video uploaded on Pakistan’s cricket Twitter handle.

Earlier in the innings, Afridi dismissed India’s two best batters – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“I tried my best to give the team breakthroughs with the new ball and I managed to get two main wickets,” he stated.

Virat Kohli was dismissed when he chopped the ball back onto the stumps and Afridi was delighted to get the huge wicket of India’s talisman.

“Virat Kohli is a great player given the runs he has scored. He has scored a lot of runs against Pakistan. It was a crucial wicket for us. We weren’t getting help with the old ball and had Kohli been set, then he would have made it tough for us. He is the backbone of the Indian team,” Afridi added.

Afridi returned with impressive figures of 4-35 in his quota of 10 overs but in the end, the match was abandoned due to rain. India will next face Nepal at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele on Monday.