Pakistan captain Babar Azam showered rich praise on the young speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi after his Player of the Series performance in the recently-concluded two-match Test series against West Indies.
In the first Test, Afridi snared 8 wickets but could not prevent Pakistan from suffering a one-wicket defeat, but returned with yet another stunning show in the second Test to help the tourists level the Test series 1-1 against the West Indies at Sabina Park on Wednesday (August 25).
The 21-year-old left-arm pacer returned with impressive figures of 6/51 and 4/43 to help Pakistan beat the West Indies by 109 runs in the second Test in Jamaica. Following his 10-wicket haul, Babar has described Shaheen as a “genuine talent” after his team’s historic Test win on Wednesday.
Azam said at the post-match presentation, “It was an important game for us after losing the first one. The way I played with Fawad Alam and made that partnership was crucial and I thank the almighty for getting us this win. The partnership helped us and then that exceptional spell from Shaheen yesterday made things easy for us. [Shaheen] he is a genuine talent, seems like he's improving day by day and it's lovely to have and watch someone like him in the team.”
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Pakistan declared 176/6 in the second innings in only 27.2 overs after dismissing the West Indies for a paltry 150 in their first innings, given the hosts' target of 329 runs on a tricky wicket at Sabina Park and Babar said they knew the ball would turn on the last day and it worked on their favor.
The skipper further explained, “We knew that the ball would turn on the last day and it worked out well. [Declaration] The plan was to take it to 330-340 and give them whatever the number of overs were left after that on Day 4. We needed to win the series so we had to take a bold decision.”
Babar concluded, “The bowlers delivered, Nauman Ali especially on the final day, took some crucial wickets. We thought the last day would help the spinners, some patches were being formed. We knew it would assist Nauman and he used it well.”
Meanwhile, Afridi was happy to deliver when his team needed and won the game for his country while crediting team effort for Pakistan’s series leveling victory over the West Indies in the second Test.
He said, “Such a great effort, it's a team effort. The team needed from me and I delivered this time. It was tough because last day and the weather is really hot. As a team we knew that getting one wicket would get us another, so we looked to give 100 percent.”
The pacer signed off by saying, “All credit goes to my brother Riaz Afridi -- he's a brother, he's a father, he's everything to me. Credit to my family as well who are always praying for me.”
(With IANS Inputs)
