T20 WC: Everything stops when Shaheen Afridi has new ball in hand, says Sana Mir

Dubai [UAE], November 12 (ANI): Former Pakistan women’s skipper Sana Mir lavished praise on pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi despite the team’s loss in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis produced a brilliant partnership to carry Australia to a stunning five-wicket win over Pakistan on Thursday.
Wade smashed three sixes in Shaheen’s over to fire Australia in the final. But Sana Mir said she is proud of the way Pakistan played in the T20 World Cup.
“Even though they ended up losing, I’m incredibly proud of the way this Pakistan team performed and how close they came to reaching the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 final,” Sana wrote in her ICC column.
“In the end it came down to a few lapses in the field because they had put the runs on the board and everyone contributed. They just could not quite get over the line against Australia.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first over was incredible. That is becoming an event, everything stops when he has the new ball in his hand. He has been brilliant and builds up pressure because of his consistency, his application and his skill. The best batters in the world feel under pressure when he has that new ball and it is incredible the way he has used it in this tournament,” she added.
Pakistan were unbeaten in the Group stage and Sana praised the team’s execution during the showpiece event.
“The tournament did show that Pakistan are still quite new to these sort of match-ups and how teams use data to plan, execute and select their teams. That is an area where I think they can improve, and likewise when it comes to dealing with pressure,” said Sana.
“And the last thing, which might have been the key to the semi-final, is about using all 15 players in the squad. Since the warm-ups, Pakistan have stuck with the same XI throughout, whereas there might have been an opportunity to try some other plans, or bring in a top player like Mohammad Wasim Jnr at some point.
“We saw Australia change things, leaving out Marcus Stoinis at one point then bringing him back and he ended up being the matchwinner,” she added.
Coming to the game, when David Warner and Maxwell fell in successive overs from Shadab Khan, the chase of 177 seemed a distanced dream but Stoinis and Wade had other ideas as they put on 81 in 7.4 overs.
Stoinis started the comeback as he went after Rauf, but it was Wade who did the most damage with three consecutive sixes off Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Earlier, Pakistan had made 176 for four batting first thanks to half-centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.
Australia will now play New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. (ANI)