Abbas Afridi Equals Ravi Bopara’s Record with an Agressive Hong Kong Sixes Knock

Pakistan captain Abbas Afridi stormed into the spotlight at the Hong Kong Sixes, smashing his way into the record books with a sensational display against Kuwait at Mission Road Ground on Friday.

The young all-rounder hammered eight towering sixes in a breathtaking 55 off only 12 deliveries, the second-most sixes ever struck in a single Hong Kong Sixes innings.

With that feat, Afridi joined an elite group featuring England’s Ravi Bopara, Bangladesh’s Jishan Alam, and Nepal’s Rashid Khan, each having cleared the boundary eight times in one innings. The overall record still belongs to England’s Edward George Barnard, who blasted nine sixes against Oman in last year’s edition of the tournament.

Afridi’s thunderous performance proved decisive as Pakistan chased down Kuwait’s 124-run target in thrilling fashion to open their campaign with a statement win.

Chasing what looked like a steep target in just six overs, Pakistan turned the contest into a power-hitting spectacle led by their skipper, Abbas Afridi.

Khawaja Nafay and Mohammad Shahzad gave Pakistan the perfect start, racing to 34-0 after two overs. Shahzad’s cameo of 14 off eight balls came to an end when he retired hurt, but the early momentum had already been established.

Abdul Samad’s early dismissal for a duck paved the way for Afridi’s entrance, and from that moment, it was pure destruction.

Afridi wasted no time showing intent, sending the ball deep into the stands as Pakistan roared to 95-1 by the end of the fifth over. With 67 runs required from the final two overs, Afridi’s monstrous hitting, including consecutive sixes off Yasin Patel, completely flipped the script.

He brought up his fifty in just 11 balls before retiring hurt, leaving Shahid Aziz to finish the job in style. Aziz smashed three consecutive sixes and a boundary in his rapid 23 off five deliveries, sealing the win.

Khawaja Nafay remained unbeaten on 25 off 11 balls as Pakistan crossed the finish line off the final delivery, a stunning statement of intent to begin their Hong Kong Sixes campaign.