Shaheen Afridi brutally downgraded to ‘net-ball spinner’ by India legend after Tilak Varma assault
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Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, who was once known to be their most effective pacer against their rival team India, has been toyed with by the young Indian batters Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. Sunil Gavaskar has also lauded the Indian batters for their domination while trolling Shaheen Afridi.
When the Indian batters arrived to score some runs for their team, they were chasing 172 runs for the Men in Blue. The batter Abhishek Sharma alone scored 74 runs at the top and hit a lot of sixes. Tilak Varma provided the final touch to the team with a 30-run cameo off just 19 balls.
Tilak Varma treated Pakistan’s premier bowler, Shaheen Afridi, like a net-ball spinner - Sunil Gavaskar
Writing in his column for The Sportstar, the former Indian World Cup winner wrote his opinion on the Indian team. Beginning with a 105-run opening partnership of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, he had reserved high praise for the Indian middle-order batsman Tilak Varma.
"When the second match came along, there was an improved batting performance by Pakistan in the first half before the loss of three wickets put them on the back foot again, and despite getting big runs in the final three overs, they were 20 runs shorter than what they would have wanted."
"India breezed to a win after a delightful opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill that took the breath away and crushed any hopes the Pakistanis had of winning the game."
Despite praising the dominance of the Indian openers, Gavaskar had some special praise reserved for Tilak Varma, claiming that he manhandled Shaheen Afridi, the best Pakistani bowler, with some glorious hits.
"In the end, another super-talented batter, Tilak Varma, treated Pakistan’s premier bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, like a net-ball spinner and smashed him around to wrap a win with deliveries to spare."
India might face Pakistan again in the Final
The two arch-rivals from Asia, Pakistan and India, have played twice in the Asia Cup and have a chance of clashing for the third time in the Asia Cup 2025 final on the 28th of September.
Given India's recent form in this Asia Cup, they are likely to win their two upcoming matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They have already registered a win against Pakistan in the first match of the Super-4 stage.
On the other hand, Pakistan began their Super-4 with a loss against India, but will be eyeing to emerge as the winners against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Two further wins can take Pakistan to the finals, but for this, they need India to win both matches.
India to go head-to-head against Bangladesh, while Pakistan set to face Sri Lanka
India, with a set playing XI, might go unchanged for their next game against Bangladesh. The match is scheduled to be played on the 24th of September at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. A win can almost seal a spot in the final for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.
Pakistan, on the other hand, might be looking forward to making some much-needed changes in order to revive their dominance in the tournament. Their next game is scheduled against Sri Lanka, and if they can win this fixture, the match against Bangladesh will be an unofficial semi-final-type match. This is because only the winner of that game will advance to the Asia Cup 2025 final.
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India National Cricket Team Pakistan National Cricket Team India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Shaheen Afridi Tilak Varma Abhishek SharmaAbout the Author
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