PAK vs ENG: "Shaheen Afridi's Injury Changed The Scenario For Pakistan": Imran Khan After Pakistan's T20 World Cup Final loss
Published - 14 Nov 2022, 11:11 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:14 AM
Imran Khan, the lone cricketer from Pakistan to ever lead his country to a World Cup victory, broke his silence following the defeat and made a significant comment on Shaheen Afridi’s injuries.
138 was never a match-winning target for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final against England on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In reality, it was the second-lowest figure ever recorded in a T20 World Cup final.
However, Pakistan’s fierce pace of attack kept England at bay the entire time. Even the well-positioned Ben Stokes appeared to be having trouble centering the ball as England was at a disadvantage. But all changed when Shaheen Afridi’s knee problem reappeared at the most unlikely moment. From that point on, Pakistan eventually lost its way and lost the match by six wickets.
With Stokes in the middle and Moeen Ali as the replacement batter, England required 41 off 30. It did appear possible for England, but Haris Rauf and Shaheen still had two more overs to go for Pakistan. England appeared to be in trouble as a result of the game’s effect from Pakistan’s pacers.
Shaheen began his third over with a dot ball but immediately displayed extreme discomfort. A few overs prior, while taking a catch to remove Harry Brook, he had awkwardly landed on his knee. The physiotherapist attended to him, but he returned for his final two overs. Shaheen tried to bowl another but failed. He hobbled off the pitch, forcing Babar to call in Iftikhar Ahmed to finish the play.
“Shaheen Afridi could have made a difference”: Imran Khan
England benefited from this as Stokes scored a four and a six off of his final two deliveries, which was sufficient to get the team back into the match. The chase was completed in just 14 more deliveries, and England won the match to win the T20 global championship for the second time in history.
Shaheen could have made the difference in those two overs, but his injury impacted the situation for Pakistan, as per Imran in a video released by Dawn.
“I used to urge my team to fight to the end. Give it your all. But when the outcome arrives and you have done your best, it is God’s will. But what is not in your hands […] no one can change the way Shaheen Afridi was injured. And, regrettably, it happened at a critical juncture in the game, when Shaheen may have made a difference. “I’m not saying we couldn’t have won, but it was at a point when the game could have been transformed,” he explained.
Ben Stokes and Sam Curran shone as England defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday and became the first team to win both the 50-over and 20-over championships in the history of the game.
