T20 Blast 2023: Shaheen Afridi sends Jos Buttler’s off stump flying with searing yorker

Shaheen Afridi Dismissal. (Photo Source : Twitter/@TrentBridge)

Pakistani fast-bowling sensation Shaheen Afridi has rediscovered his lethal form with the ball after recovering from his knee injury. The left-arm pacer displayed his imperious control of the ball, uprooting Lancashire opener Jos Buttler’s off-stump with an unplayable yorker.

Lancashire got off to a terrific start in their T20 Blast clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, thanks to a brisk opening stand between compatriots Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. While Salt was the first to depart inside the powerplay, his white-ball skipper was shell-shocked by a lethal yorker by Nottinghamshire’s Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi in the fifth over of the match.

Buttler walked off the pitch in disbelief after watching the mess that Afridi had made of the stumps, while the Pakistani pacer celebrated the crucial scalp in his trademark style, spreading his hands to acknowledge the applause from the crowd.

An in-form Shaheen Afridi helps Nottinghamshire break into the top four of the points table

The 23-year-old pacer returned later to dismiss George Bell, finishing with brilliant figures of 2/25 in his three overs, helping the home side restrict Liam Livingstone’s team to 145 runs in the first innings of the match. The home side completed a comfortable victory in the second innings, chasing down a par total without much of a fuss to climb to third place in the North Group with eight points to their name in seven matches.

Shaheen’s fifth wicket in two matches saw him breakthrough in the list of leading wicket-takers in this year’s edition as he has now bagged the joint third-most wickets this season with ten scalps to his name in seven matches so far.