Wasim Akram is awestruck by Shoaib Malik's Dhoni-esque finish against Afghanistan

Shoaib Malik has been playing One Day Cricket for Pakistan from October 1999 and has a truckload of experience under his belt. Recently, he announced his retirement from the format after playing the World Cup next year in England and Wales. Yesterday, in Pakistan’s Super 4 match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, he showed why he is regarded as a reliable figure in the lineup.

Chasing 258, the Men in Green lost Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam by the 36th over after which the Sialkot-born cricketer was required to guide the national team home. He didn’t panic and put his head down and scored 51 runs from 43 balls to help his team over the finishing line. His knock was laced with three boundaries and a muscular whack into the stands.

Malik shows calmness

He saw quite a few wickets go down at the other end, but he didn’t change his approach and brought all his experience to the fore. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men needed 10 runs from the last over and he faced fast-bowler Aftab Alam. He couldn’t score of the first ball, but flicked the pacer over deep square leg for a six. He finished the match off by hitting a boundary in the third ball.

In the meantime, Wasim Akram, the former Pakistani cricketer, believes that Malik’s finish was equivalent to how Indian wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni bats under pressure in the dying stages of a run-chase. He also mentioned that one can’t substitute experience, something which Afghanistan lacked in the death overs.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Experience has no substitute… Shoaib Malik proved it against a spirited Afghanistan .Did a Dhoni like finish … when Malik faced a bowler, he had no expression on his face and that frustrates a bowler becos he doesn’t know what to expect… wonderful knock @realshoaibmalik,”

Here is Akram’s tweet

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