5W, W, W, 1, 1, W W: Shaheen Afridi breaks the internet by taking four wickets in the opening over of the T20 Blast
Pakistan's standout pacer Shaheen Afridi astonished fans and analysts alike with a jaw-dropping performance for Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast on Friday. Afridi took four wickets in the first over of the innings, breaking the record for most dismissals in the first over of a T20 encounter. Afridi has been in excellent form for Nottinghamshire this season, taking 20 wickets in 13 matches and leading the side in wickets. With a sensational first over against the Bears, the left-arm pacer maintained his regular form.On the first legitimate delivery of the innings, the bowler dismissed Bears captain Alex Davies for a golden duck (he had bowled a five-wide to begin the over), and then castled Chris Benjamin with an absolute peach.Afridi missed out on a hat-trick, but he took two more wickets in the next two deliveries of the over, removing Dan Mousley off the fifth ball, who gave an easy catch to Olly Stone before dismissing Ed Barnard for a duck.
Afridi's efforts, however, were in fruitless as Nottinghamshire, despite a fantastic first over, failed to capitalise on the momentum and lost by two wickets. Robert Yates (65) held one end and steered the most of the Bears' innings, while Jacob Bethell (27) and Jake Lintott (27*) both made substantial contributions in the lower order to ensure the Bears' victory.
Meanwhile, Afridi concluded the game with stats of 4/29 in four overs, failing to add another wicket to his tally.
The left-arm bowler had been out of action for several months following the T20 World Cup last year due to a knee injury, but he returned in the Pakistan Super League this year, helping Lahore Qalandars to a historic title victory. He returned to Pakistan in the white-ball format in May, during the team's series against New Zealand.