Shubman Gill Humiliated Shaheen Afridi And Co. With A Stunning Century In The U19 World Cup
Shubman Gill and Shaheen Afridi in the U19 World Cup (X.com)
The U19 World Cup over the years has been a big stepping stone in the development and upliftment of a young cricketer. Many players over the years have made it to the senior side on the back of their performance in the U19 World Cup, and two of the most celebrated young cricketers from India and Pakistan - Shubman Gill and Shaheen Afridi also first displayed their class in the junior World Cup.
Gill and Shaheen Afridi both played in the U19 World Cup 2018 and the battle between the two in the India-Pakistan clash of that World Cup turned out to be quite a fascinating watch. It was a Super League Semi-final and India batted first. The openers gave India a good start, but it was Shubman Gill's knock that caught the eye of the cricketing world. Gill came out to bat in the 16th over and displayed a positive attitude right from the onset.
Shaheen Afridi Struggled Against India
The Indian right-handed batter smashed every Pakistan bowler which included Shaheen Afridi as well, and the Pakistan left-arm pacer struggled for his rhythm. India posted a good score of 272 on the board and Shaheen Afridi could take just one wicket in the game while giving away 62 runs in his 10 overs.
The score was more than enough for the young Pakistan team and they were cleaned up for just 69 with Ishan Porel picking four wickets. The likes of Riyan Parag and Shiva Singh picked two wickets apiece and Shaheen Afridi failed miserably with the bat too, bagging an 11-ball duck.
It was a humiliating loss for Pakistan against their arch-rivals in a big semifinal clash, and it was just the start of a glorious battle between the two young superstars which was recently seen in the World Cup 2023 and Asia Cup as well.