T20 World Cup: Pakistan's Shaheen, Imad bag three-fers against Ireland
Pakistan restricted Ireland to 106/9 in 20 overs in their final ICC T20 World Cup 2024 encounter in Florida. Shaheen Afridi ran through Ireland's top order, while spinner Imad Wasim was unplayable in the middle overs. Both Shaheen and Imad recorded three-wicket hauls, while Mohammad Amir took two wickets. Despite this effort, Pakistan could not bowl out Ireland. Here are the key stats.
Shaheen, Imad trump Ireland
Shaheen dismissed Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker in the first over. The left-arm seamer then removed Harry Tector to bring Ireland down to 15/4. Shaheen conceded 22 runs in four overs. Ireland eventually plunged to 32/6 before Gareth Delany and Mark Adair propelled them past 70. Imad dismissed the duo besides getting rid of Barry McCarthy. He conceded eight runs in four overs.
Two first-over wickets in 2024 T20 WC
As mentioned, Shaheen took two wickets in the first over itself. He became the fourth bowler to take two first-over wickets in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Notably, Shaheen is one of the four left-arm seamers.
Imad concedes eight runs in four overs
Imad gave away just eight runs in four overs. His tally included as many as 17 dot balls. As per Cricbuzz, Imad has conceded the fewest runs by a Pakistan bowler in a four-over spell in a T20 World Cup match.
A look at key stats
Shaheen, who has been Pakistan's strike bowler across formats, has raced to 96 wickets from 70 T20Is an incredible average of 20.39. His tally includes an economy rate of 7.65. On the other hand, Imad now has 73 wickets from 75 matches at an average of 21.75. He has an economy rate of 6.20 in the format.
