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Pakistan has been hosting a tri-series with England and Sri Lanka. The tri-series is at the business end, as Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. In the final there has been a shocking call taken from the Pakistan National Cricket Team, which is axing of the in-form all-rounder Shadab Khan from the playing XI.
The Men in Green have been in good form in this entire series, having lost just one game out of the four matches. This will give them a boost as their recent form before this series has not been at the very best. Shaheen Afridi’s comeback to form will also be a good sign for the team and the fans.
"Shadab is not feeling well": Shaheen Afridi confirms why Shadab Khan was dropped for the tri-series final against Sri Lanka
During the toss, captain Shaheen Afridi informed that Shadab Khan has not been feeling well and thus has been replaced by Faheem Ashraf. Shadab Khan has been in good form; it is a big miss for the team. Meanwhile, the Men in Green captain has won the toss and opted to field first in the final match.
He said during the toss (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "We're going for bowling first. [On whether the decision is influenced by the dew expected later and the opportunity to make early use of the new ball] Yeah, exactly. We think later on will be dew and also we have four fast bowlers, and also using the wicket early.
"[On whether Pakistan have put their previous low-scoring outing behind them or addressed it ahead of the final] No, actually like Sri Lanka had (been) batting second all the game. So also (keeping) that in mind and also we had the four fast bowlers. So let's see how the wicket react in first ten overs. [On Pakistan's playing XI] Shadab is not feeling well, so Faheem is in."
Shadab Khan pulled a thriller for Pakistan
Shadab Khan has been in sensational form in the ongoing tri-series. He single-handedly pulled off the match against England when the Men in Green were struggling at 154/9. From there, Shadab Khan played a knock of 113 runs off 96 deliveries, smashing 13 fours and 5 sixes.
He scored more than 80% of the runs in the last-wicket partnership with Haris Rauf. It is the highest individual ODI score ever recorded at No. 8 or lower. He broke the previous joint record of 100* held by Ireland's Simi Singh and Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Miraz. In two matches, he has scored 115 runs. The team would also miss his bowling in the middle overs.
Pakistan stitched second highest 10th wicket-partnership
This was also Pakistan's second-highest 10th-wicket partnership and overall fourth-highest, as the two stitched 89* runs for the last wicket.
The Men in Green would want to finish the tournament on high and win the final match against Sri Lanka.
