Shaheen Afridi hit for a six off his first ball by Abhishek Sharma in the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash
Afridi’s first-ball struggles continue, having also conceded a four to Sharma in the earlier group stage match
India gets an aggressive start, putting pressure on Pakistan’s premier new-ball bowler
Shaheen Afridi's reputation as a premier new-ball bowler took a massive dent during the India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2025 Super Four match in Dubai on Sunday (September 22), with Abhishek Sharma doing the damage.
Afridi had never been hit for a six off the first ball of his spell, and the 25-year-old had previously opened the bowling for Pakistan 69 times. But all that changed tonight as Abhishek pulled the first ball of India's innings for the maximum over fine leg.
For the record, this wasn't entirely out of character for the Indian opener. He had also hit Shaheen's first ball for a four in their earlier group stage meeting.
India, chasing a 172-run target, got off to a flier with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill hitting the ground running from the get-go. The openers added 105 runs for the first wicket in 9.5 overs. Gill got bowled by Faheem Ashraf, then Sharma holed out in the 13th over, to Abrar Ahmed and caught by Haris Rauf, for 39-ball 74.
With Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson in the middle, India were 49 runs away from another win against Pakistan.
Earlier, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and asked Pakistan to set a target. Sahibzada Farhan (58 off 45) and Fakhar Zaman (15 off 9) added 21 runs in an encouraging start, but India pulled things back to restrict Pakistan to a chaseable total of 171/5.
Shivam Dube (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers on a day when pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah conceded 45 runs without success. Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav took a wicket each, while skipper SKY effected a run out.
