“I try hard and I back myself…I just kept it simple, and it worked.”
One team scrapped to a mere 224 in their quota of 50 overs while the other crumbled for 98. And all of this happened because of one man.
On a track that did a bit, a 6′ 7″ giant bowled a spell that blew away the top order of the visiting team batting first. With the team struggling at 47/5, out came a man making his nth comeback to ODI cricket.
And then it happened.
A 55-ball blitzkrieg, that saw the most mysterious spinner in the world disappear into the stands. The innings of 76 runs contained 5 sixes and 6 fours, and that too on a track where the others struggled to even get the ball off the square.
It didn’t end there.
After pushing his team up to a respectable score, the comeback man rolled his arm over and ripped through the opposition to end up with the figures of 9-3-12-7.
You don’t make such a comeback to international cricket unless your name is Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi.
“I am still better than lots of players” - Shahid Afridi proclaimed in an interview after Pakistan’s dismal show at the Champions Trophy. He was handed a life-line by the selectors, and he came back storming to prove what he had said exactly.
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