Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi had a fitting response for the Bangladesh crowd after the people present at the Chattogram stadium taunted the left-arm quick with chants of Matthew Wade.
On Day 3 of the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan on Sunday, the host crowd reminded Afridi of his over to Matthew Wade in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, in which the Aussie left-handed batter smashed the Pakistan bowler for three consecutive sixes to win the match.
The incident took place when Afridi slid and dove at the boundary. As Afridi saved a four, one person in the crowd reminded him of Wade’s hat-trick of sixes, which was caught on the mic. But their joy was cut short as Afridi came up with a brutal response and had the last laugh, dismissing Shadman Islam and Najmul Shanto in one over.
Starting their second innings, Afridi struck in his third over – the fifth of the innings – first trapping Islam LBW and then getting Hossain Shanto for a two-ball duck in a span of three deliveries. Two Bangladesh wickets falling in the same over triggered a pin-drop silence in the stadium, even as Afridi went on to grab another wicket, getting opener Saif Hassan.
Afridi has had a stellar Test record in 2021, taking his tally to an impressive 42 wickets. These have come in just eight Tests at an average of 17.66 including two five-wicket-hauls. Afridi is currently tied with India spinner R Ashwin for the most wickets in a calendar year. Ashwin, on the other hand has been equally impressive as his wickets have come in seven matches – the seventh currently in progress against New Zealand in Kanpur.
Ashwin is tied with Afridi despite not playing a single Test match in England earlier this year. Third on the list is fast bowler Hasan Ali (39 wickets), followed by India left-arm spinner Axar Patel with 32 wickets and counting.