Twitter Reactions: Shaheen Afridi’s opening spell leaves New Zealand in tatters at Edgbaston

Pakistan have had to win their last four games in World Cup 2019 after the thrashing they got against India at Old Trafford on June 16. They did well to win against South Africa at Lord’s last Sunday and on Wednesday, they came out firing against New Zealand in their seventh game. The green shirts were at the top of their game to leave the Black Caps reeling at 46/4 to brighten the chances to pick up yet another win in the tournament.

Pakistan pacers came out hard at New Zealand after Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat in a game which was delayed by rain. Left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi was particularly impressive as he knocked out three of the Kiwis’ first four wickets after Mohammad Amir removed an out-of-form Martin Guptill.

The movement that the 19-year-old bowler generated with the new ball was enough to outsmart the Kiwi batsmen and the pacer’s figures after his first seven overs read 3/11 with three maidens. The game at Edgbaston was only the third Afridi is playing in this World Cup and the figures were far better than his previous best of 2 for 70 against Australia registered in Taunton on June 12.

Former cricketers and experts were ecstatic with Shaheen Afridi’s performance in a game that Pakistan have to win. The three wickets that Afridi’s opening burst picked were of opener Colin Munro (12), Ross Taylor (3) and Tom Latham (1).

In 1992, Akram had floored NZ; in 2019, it’s Shaheen

It was also an eerie resemblance of Pakistan’s clash with New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup. Imran Khan’s side had taken on the Kiwis who were undefeated in the tournament at that point of time and faced a batting collapse to allow the Asians to win the match by 7 wickets. Like Afridi at Edgbaston today, another left-arm seamer Wasim Akram had demolished New Zealand in that game in Christchurch by taking 4 for 32.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the teenage bowler’s impeccable swing bowling at Edgbaston:

This kid Shaheen Afridi is special.
Where did they hide him for so long

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 26, 2019

AFRIDIIIIII great bowling ????????????

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 26, 2019

Pakistan on fire! #PAKvNZ #CWC19

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 26, 2019

Tu Shaheen hai… #nicebowling #PAKvNZ

— Fawad Alam (@iamfawadalam25) June 26, 2019

Shaheen Shah’s lengths have been spot on today.. #PakvNZ

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) June 26, 2019

What a spell of bowling from this ⬇️ man @iShaheenAfridi ???????????????????????????????? #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/xU62B2Rf3V

— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) June 26, 2019

Pakistan has just woken up! #impressiveperformance

— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) June 26, 2019

#newzealand prepared for Amir but Shaheen Afridi came out of syllabus ????????#ARYNews #CWC19#WeHaveWeWill#PAKvNZ

— Wajeeh (@TheCristianoGuy) June 26, 2019

Watch how the stadium erupted when Shaheen Afridi took Latham’s wicket #CWC19 #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/B3Kl20gq1k

— Ahmed Bashaar Syed (@AhmedBSyed) June 26, 2019

Shaheen Afridi is all over New Zealand . Will the @BLACKCAPS will see their first defeat ? #CWC19 #WeHaveWeWill

— Ashwajit Buddhapriya (@Ashwajit_99) June 26, 2019

I sense resurgence of Pakistan and if they win today they will most likely reach the semis, thanks to the golden boy Shaheen Afridi.

— Om Raut (@Rautdai) June 26, 2019

#CWC19 #PAKvNZ
To Shaheen Afridi: pic.twitter.com/TvcxuNcv1h

— Wasif???????? (@Wasifffaaayyy) June 26, 2019

Shaheen Afridi just bowled the spell of his life #CWC19 #NZvPAK

— Ahmed Bashaar Syed (@AhmedBSyed) June 26, 2019

Pakistan are on ????
Shaheen is on ????
Crowd is Electric ⚡#PAKvNZ #shaheenafridi pic.twitter.com/I5BFh9Cjwb

— Aiza khan (@Aizakhan100) June 26, 2019

⏺️⏺️⏺️4️⃣⏺️⏺️⏺️W⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️3️⃣⏺️1️⃣⏺️W⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️1️⃣⏺️W⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️⏺️1️⃣⏺️1️⃣1️⃣

Shaheen Afridi is on fire with figures of 3/11 from his first seven overs #NZvsPAK ???????? #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/vnVIDZhXKr

— RedZone.bet (@GoRedZone) June 26, 2019