Shaheen Afridi appeared to have finally left his struggles behind as he led a fightback from Pakistan in the last 10 overs against Australia with a five-wicket haul.
Australia seemed set to surpass 400 when openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh scored centuries in a massive 259-run opening partnership. Afridi broke that partnership and then went on to take three wickets in the last three overs to complete his five-wicket haul.
This was his second World Cup five-wicket haul, having recorded figures of 6/35 against Bangladesh during the 2019 tournament. That makes him just the second Pakistan player after his father-in-law Shahid Afridi to have two World Cup five-wicket hauls to his name.
Afridi's figures of 5/54 on Friday are also the best for any bowler thus far in the 2023 World Cup.
New Zealand's Mitchell Santner has now been pushed down to second on the list, having returned figures of 5/89 against the Netherlands. India's Jasprit Bumrah's figures of 4/39 against Afghanistan are third in history, while England's Reece Topley's 4/43 against the Netherlands are fourth. The top five is rounded off by Australia's Adam Zampa, who had returned 4/47 against Sri Lanka.
Despite Pakistan taking four wickets for just 27 runs in the last five overs, Australia ended up with a total of 367/9, which is the highest any team has scored against Pakistan in a World Cup match. While Marsh was dismissed by Afridi on 121 off 108 balls, Warner went on to score 163 off just 124 balls.
It was only the fourth instance in World Cup history that both openers notched centuries in the same match. Afridi's five-wicket haul was just a sad reminder of what other Pakistan bowlers could have done with a bit more thought on a vastly underwhelming day.
Warner, who was dropped twice on 10 and 105, and Marsh were at their marauding best against a Pakistan attack that lacked direction on a smooth M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, with a quick outfield adding value to the shots too. They were either too full, too short, or strayed onto the legs, and the Aussie batters did not need any second invitation to exploit the freebies.
All this could have been a bit different for Pakistan had Usama Mir, who replaced Shadab Khan, held onto a simple catch from Warner off Afridi, the best among Pakistan bowlers on this day with his clever variations, inside the ring.
- Shaheen Afridi