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image-lm2cipxlShaheen Afridi surrounded by teammates after dismissing Virat Kohli (AP)

Pakistan pace trio Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf worked together to dismantle the famed Indian batting line-up in match number three of the Asia Cup 2023.

Afridi kick-started the proceedings by knocking over Indian captain Rohit Sharma and number three Virat Kohli in quick succession within his opening spell. Rauf piled on the Indian pain from his end by removing well-set batters Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer.

By dusting out the Indian innings for just 266, the three Pakistan fast bowlers managed to claim a couple of huge bowling records in ODIs.

Shaheen, Haris, Naseem claim two big records

Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf shared four wickets between them to rock India’s top-order at 66-4. After Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan’s 138-run resistance took the ‘Men in Blue’ past the 200-run mark, Afridi and Rauf returned to polish off the tail with Naseem Shah reaping the benefits of scoreboard pressure with a three-fer.

As it turned out, the Pakistan pace triplet accounted for all 10 Indian wickets that fell in the innings. The feat enabled them to claim two huge bowling records in ODIs.

  • For starters, Afridi’s four-fer and three apiece from Naseem and Rauf marked the first ever instance of a team’s fast bowlers taking all 10 wickets in an Asia Cup ODI innings.
  • Moreover, their efforts also made Pakistan the first-ever visiting side in history to claim all 10 wickets in an ODI innings in Sri Lanka.

The latter of the two achievements demonstrates the trio’s dexterity with the ball, considering pitches in Sri Lanka provides considerable assistance towards spinners and very little for the pacemen.

As it transpired in Kandy’s Pallekele Stadium, ceaseless rains prevented the launch of Pakistan’s run-chase in the evening, forcing the game to end without a result. Both teams walked away with a point each, enabling the ‘Men in Green’ to storm into the Super Four stage of the 2023 Asia Cup.

Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah will now turn up for Pakistan in their opening Super Four fixture, set to be played on September 6 in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.