Shaheen Shah Afridi Targets Redemption in ODI Series Decider Against South Africa

South Africa showcased complete domination over Pakistan in the 2nd ODI at Faisalabad. They defeated the visitors by a big margin of 8 wickets, squaring the ODI series in style. The green shirts would be feeling a bit disappointed after the match, as they bowled and fielded quite poorly in the second innings of the match.

The skipper of Pakistan’s ODI side, Shaheen Shah Afridi, is confident that the team will bounce back strongly in the last game of the series. He praised the performance of Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, who helped the Pakistan team recover after losing early wickets. It was due to their efforts that the green shirts came back on track and posted a decent total of 269 on the board at the end of the first innings.  

“It's a little bit tough, but I think Saim and Agha did very well, and their partnership helped us a little bit. Three wickets early and then 270, I think that was a good score,” said Shaheen Shah Afridi at the post-match press conference.

In the 2nd innings of the match, the fielding of the Pakistan team was quite disappointing. They dropped several catches that allowed South Africa to build strong partnerships. The Pakistan skipper also highlighted this point in the post-match press conference, saying that the dropped catches made their chances of winning quite difficult.

“Unfortunately, the drop catches cost us,” said Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Despite losing the match badly, Shaheen is confident that Pakistan will make a strong comeback in the last game of the ODI series. He said the team will now analyze the areas where they struggled today, as it will allow them to rectify mistakes and come back strongly in the series decider.

“If you win always, then you can't see what's going on around you. But I think we will come back strongly. We will come back strongly,” said Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Pakistan will now take on South Africa in the 3rd ODI at the same venue on November 8. It would be interesting to see how the home team will change its tactics, as their batting struggled badly during the series. All eyes will be on Babar Azam, as his outing in the last two games at Faisalabad has largely remained very disappointing.