Watch: Shaheen Afridi at his best as he castles Andrew Balbirnie with an absolute beauty

Shaheen Afridi, on Sunday (June 16), gave Pakistan a solid start by castling Ireland's Andrew Balbirnie with an absolute beauty in the ongoing 36th game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. Both the teams are taking on each other at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida.

The Pakistan pace spearhead had struggled to make an impact in the previous three games for his side. In the first game against the USA, he conceded 33 runs and failed to pick up any wickets. In the second game against arch-rivals India, the left-arm pacer picked up 1 wicket and conceded 29 runs in a low-scoring game. In the third game against Canada, he picked up 1 wicket again while giving away 21 runs.

However, he looked in good rhythm on Sunday as he gave Pakistan a solid start his captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first. Shaheen Afridi picked up two wickets in the very first over to rock Ireland's top-order. He first dismissed Andrew Balbirnie with an absolute peach.

After bowling two dot balls to begin the over, Shaheen Afridi sent back the Ireland opener for a duck on the third ball. The Pakistan star bowled a length delivery that was pitched up before moving in at the last moment and Balbirnie went for a drive but could not make contact with the ball. The ball went on to pass through the big gap between the bat and pad to shatter the stumps.

Watch as Shaheen Afridi castles Andrew Balbirnie:

In swinger peach ✅
Caught behind ✅#ShaheenShahAfridi proves why he is so lethal, as he cleans up 2 Ireland batters in his very first over! 🦅#PAKvIRE | LIVE NOW | #T20WorldCupOnStar pic.twitter.com/DkherDLeNE

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 16, 2024

On the fifth ball of the same over, Shaheen Afridi struck again as he made Lorcan Tucker edge one behind the stumps where wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan took an easy catch. Ireland were reeling at 10 for 3 in the third over at the time of writing this report.

Meanwhile, both Pakistan and Ireland have already been knocked out of the T20 World Cup and will be looking to end their campaign on a winning note.