File photo of Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi© AFP

Shaheen Afridi stunned everyone by taking 4 wickets in the first over of the innings for Nottinghamshire Outlaws during the T20 Blast encounter against Birmingham Bears on Friday. While the Outlaws were defeated in the match, the Pakistan pacer earned major praise for his brilliant performance. Former India opener Aakash Chopra lauded Shaheen and spoke specifically about how he kept bowling full which ultimately proved to be a great strategy. He added that some of the balls from Shaheen were completely unplayable and the swing he produces is one of his biggest assets.

“Yesterday, Shaheen Afridi took 4 wickets in the first over the innings…some of the deliveries were simply unplayable. Swing at high speed…and the courage to bowl really full,” he tweeted.

Shaheen hogged all the limelight for his efforts in the first over as he bagged four wickets to give the Outlaws a dream start. The Pakistan pacer dismissed Alex Davies (0), Chris Benjamin (0), Dan Mousley (1) and Ed Bernard (0), respectively.

Shaheen trapped Davies LBW with a toe crushing yorker in the first ball of the second innings, befrore flooring Benjamin’s off-stump on the very next delivery.

On the 5th delivery of the over, Shaheen got the better of Mousley, with Ollie Stone claiming a stunning one-handed catch. Shaheen then capped off his over with another stunning yorker to castle Bernanrd.

Shaheen’s exploits have now gone viral on social media.

Shaheen Afridi, you cannot do that!! https://t.co/ehXxmtz6rX pic.twitter.com/wvibWa17zA

— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 30, 2023

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However, Shaheen’s effort went in vain as Yates led the charge of the Bears with five sixes and three fours during his stay in the middle.

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