Daily Times

NOTTINGHAM: Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi achieved a historic feat on Friday, becoming the first bowler to take four wickets in the first over of a T20 match. Shaheen bowled an amazing opening over for Nottinghamshire against Warwickshire in the T20 Vitality Blast on Friday (June 30). The 23-year-old fast bowler claimed the wickets on the first, second, fifth and sixth balls of the maiden over.

The pacer only gave 29 runs, however, and his side lost the match against Warwickshire by two wickets. Vitality Blast 2023 witnessed an exhilarating encounter between Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire in the North Group at Trent Bridge. The match saw Nottinghamshire’s Shaheen Afridi breathe fire as he dismissed four batters in the opening over of the second innings and became the first bowler to do so in the history of T20 cricket.

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, Warwickshire restricted Nottinghamshire to a total of 168 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Nottinghamshire’s innings got off to a shaky start, with Alex Hales and Joe Clarke departing early. Tom Moores then stood up for his side and played an explosive knock to bail them out of danger. Moores smashed 73 runs off just 42 balls, comprising six fours and four sixes. However, despite Moores’ heroics, the rest of the Nottinghamshire batting lineup struggled to contribute significantly. Hasan Ali and Jake Lintott were the picks of the bowlers for Warwickshire, taking three wickets each, while Glenn Maxwell chipped in with two wickets.Chasing a target of 169 runs, Warwickshire faced a few early setbacks courtesy of a sensational opening over from Nottinghamshire pacer Shaheen. The 23-year-old seamer wreaked havoc in the Warwickshire by dismissing four of their batters in the first over itself and becoming the first bowler to achieve the feat in a T20 game. The first wicket for Shaheen came in the form of Alex Davies off a yorker-length delivery. The left-arm fast bowler then cleaned up Chris Benjamin for a duck on the very next ball. Meanwhile, Dan Mousley and Ed Barnard further went on to become Shaheen’s third and fourth victims. The Pakistan cricketer was pumped up after the historic feat and celebrated in style.Coming back to the match, despite the terrible start, Warwickshire managed to pull off a win against Nottinghamshire. Robert Yates played a remarkable innings for his team and scored impressive 65 runs off 46 deliveries. Yates was well supported by Jacob Bethell (27 runs) and Jake Lintott (27 runs) as they kept the scoreboard ticking. Although Warwickshire fumbled a bit towards the end and lost a few quick wickets, their lower-order batters held their nerve and achieved the target with five balls to spare.

Shaheen finished as the most successful bowler for Nottinghamshire with a brilliant spell of four wickets for 29 runs in his quota of four overs. Jake Ball also contributed well, taking three wickets, but it wasn’t enough as Warwickshire emerged as the winners and clinched a hard-fought two wickets victory.

Currently, the Bears are at the top of the points table in the North Group, with 10 wins in 13 matches. On the other hand, Nottinghamshire are in fourth place as they have won seven matches out of 13. This is the 21st edition of the tournament which was the first precision T20 league when it started in June 2003 as the Twenty20 Cup. Shaheen signed for Nottinghamshire Outlaws for this year’s Blast. In the 2020 edition of the tournament, he briefly represented Hampshire Hawks. In a match against Middlesex, he took four wickets on four deliveries.