[VIDEO] Shahid Afridi smashes his first-ever T20 hundred, 101 off 43 balls in NatWest T20 Blast QF

[hafizexpress]

Just recently Afridi went ham against Derbyshire in the quarterfinal of the Natwest t20 Blast. Vintage Afridi was in action. Joy to watch the highlights. He still has his shots.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pBkt0-VOKmc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[kingusama92]

Winding back the clock.

Smashed them all over the ground.

 

[Suleiman]

Hell friggin yes. Called it in the natwest Afridi signing thread where you had Misbah fans and other haters saying what a waste of a signing, time to eat your words and dot balls.

Anyone with cricketing intellect and management oriented mind would know what a killer signing this was. He is done internationally but he will still smash randos into oblivion be it county or international has beens.

Really happy for him. He gets a lot of undeserved hate (and love) but you can't deny the talent of this man. As overused as that word "talent" is, it fits him perfectly.

43 years old or 16, he's still got it.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Its like the old Afridi, smashing them to all parts of the ground.

He should still be in Pakistan T20 team

 

[KingKhanWC]

Hell friggin yes. Called it in the natwest Afridi signing thread where you had Misbah fans and other haters saying what a waste of a signing, time to eat your words and dot balls.

Anyone with cricketing intellect and management oriented mind would know what a killer signing this was. He is done internationally but he will still smash randos into oblivion be it county or international has beens.

Really happy for him. He gets a lot of undeserved hate (and love) but you can't deny the talent of this man. As overused as that word "talent" is, it fits him perfectly.

43 years old or 16, he's still got it.

He smashed Tahir who is ranked 3rd in T20 bowlers and 2nd in ODI.

 

[Suleiman]

He smashed Tahir who is ranked 3rd in T20 bowlers and 2nd in ODI.

He could always smash spinners even with both eyes closed.

Ashwin was never the same after his half slogs still carried for sixes.

He was opening as well which amplifies the nostalgia.

But he was done internationally, I stand by that.

 

[Abdullah719]

But he was done internationally, I stand by that.

Are you sure, cause we need an attacking opener

 

[cricketerB94]

He should open for his PSL franchise as well.

 

[Hamza_]

Just shows what he could've been...

Also not opening was a poor move as he utilizes restrictions

 

[Suleiman]

Are you sure, cause we need an attacking opener

Afridi only opens when he is in the mood. We can have him for a mood by mood basis

Also I have to bring back this legendary gif of the man: )

And much like in 2013 when people thought he was done and dusted, and like today he came out with a bang:

But I even opened a thread before the 2016 T20 WC that he should open and people were laughing. Well I hope y'all enjoyed Shehzad's insane blitz back then

 

[PakSarZameen]

Should have always opened in T20s.

Wasted his T20 and Test career.

Would have been a great number 6/7 in Tests aswell.

 

[Specialisttailender]

Was dropped twice but I agree, he should have opened for Pakistan in T20s.

 

[msb314]

Hell friggin yes. Called it in the natwest Afridi signing thread where you had Misbah fans and other haters saying what a waste of a signing, time to eat your words and dot balls.

Anyone with cricketing intellect and management oriented mind would know what a killer signing this was. He is done internationally but he will still smash randos into oblivion be it county or international has beens.

Really happy for him. He gets a lot of undeserved hate (and love) but you can't deny the talent of this man. As overused as that word "talent" is, it fits him perfectly.

43 years old or 16, he's still got it.

ATG Bradman of hitting for me...
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

 

[ExplicitAI]

He played way beyond his time as a cricketer, much more appreciated nowadays since we're now playing modern ODI cricket since back in Afridi's day's, batsmen were expected to preserve their wickets and "build" huge totals rather than just semi-blazing to big totals. Would've been the perfect ODI opener for us in the same way Brendon McCullum gave NZ PLENTY of quick starts with those 20 ball 50's but he chose to become a lower order slogger which was helpful sometimes but we were prone to batting collapses and Afridi is the last man on earth you'd want to depend on to stabilise the team in the way Misbah does (he's done it once against SL with 75 runs and 5 wickets). I'm glad to have watched Afridi in his prime years (2011-2016) with plenty of match winning performances with bat and ball (and some exceptional fielding) and I don't regret missing out on anything before 2011 (except for his fastest ODI hundred).

 

[shaz619]

Just watching the replay of the full game, during the pre-match build not once did any of the sky pundits discuss Afridi but put over the likes of Tahir and how they will be pivotal

 

[todfod 11]

He should have always opened he wasted his talent batting at 6.. He is a player when he gets going he takes the game away within few overs. Always performed well under pressure what a Champion player

 

[The_Odd_One]

He is the greatest hitter to have ever played the game along with Jayasuriya. I will give him that.

Afridi was a very good limited overs player between 2005 and 2012. Outside of that period, he was a burden on the team.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I think he should be recalled to the T20 side

 

[mmkextreme_1]

I think he should be recalled to the T20 side

No thank you. Took forever for him to leave the Pakistan team, and now that he is gone I would rather make sure it stays that way.

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Always good to see our lads performing well in foreign leagues.

 

[Leo23]

He proved it in the last psl that he is still the best lower order hitter in pakistan by a mile.

 

[msb314]

He played way beyond his time as a cricketer, much more appreciated nowadays since we're now playing modern ODI cricket since back in Afridi's day's, batsmen were expected to preserve their wickets and "build" huge totals rather than just semi-blazing to big totals. Would've been the perfect ODI opener for us in the same way Brendon McCullum gave NZ PLENTY of quick starts with those 20 ball 50's but he chose to become a lower order slogger which was helpful sometimes but we were prone to batting collapses and Afridi is the last man on earth you'd want to depend on to stabilise the team in the way Misbah does (he's done it once against SL with 75 runs and 5 wickets). I'm glad to have watched Afridi in his prime years (2011-2016) with plenty of match winning performances with bat and ball (and some exceptional fielding) and I don't regret missing out on anything before 2011 (except for his fastest ODI hundred).

I will always stand by the belief that Afridis peak years were from 2004-2007 under Woolmer.

His 2nd fastest hundred at Kanpur, 101 vs India (4 consecutive sixes off Harbhajan), 92 vs Flintoff, Harmison etc., 122 vs WI, 77 vs SAF @Durbah and his heroics in the Bangalore Test of 2005 (our greatest ever Test victory) all came during that time period.

That WAS his purple patch - if he ever had any...

I'll admit though his bowling remained effective until about 2013.

 

[cric_man]

2 dropped catches and quite a few gimme full tosses in that innings.

 

[ammar_merry]

He played way beyond his time as a cricketer, much more appreciated nowadays since we're now playing modern ODI cricket since back in Afridi's day's, batsmen were expected to preserve their wickets and "build" huge totals rather than just semi-blazing to big totals. Would've been the perfect ODI opener for us in the same way Brendon McCullum gave NZ PLENTY of quick starts with those 20 ball 50's but he chose to become a lower order slogger which was helpful sometimes but we were prone to batting collapses and Afridi is the last man on earth you'd want to depend on to stabilise the team in the way Misbah does (he's done it once against SL with 75 runs and 5 wickets). I'm glad to have watched Afridi in his prime years (2011-2016) with plenty of match winning performances with bat and ball (and some exceptional fielding) and I don't regret missing out on anything before 2011 (except for his fastest ODI hundred).

prime years...not even close

 

[ExplicitAI]

I will always stand by the belief that Afridis peak years were from 2004-2007 under Woolmer.

His 2nd fastest hundred at Kanpur, 101 vs India (4 consecutive sixes off Harbhajan), 92 vs Flintoff, Harmison etc., 122 vs WI, 77 vs SAF @Durbah and his heroics in the Bangalore Test of 2005 (our greatest ever Test victory) all came during that time period.

That WAS his purple patch - if he ever had any...

I'll admit though his bowling remained effective until about 2013.

I was proper young at that time so I never got a chance to watch Afridi during those years but those were probably just a few amazing games for him. I've actually seen plenty of match winning innings from Afridi between 2011-2016 with both bat and ball even though he had a rough patch in 2012.

 

[bones]

He proved it in the last psl that he is still the best lower order hitter in pakistan by a mile.

That explains how dire the batting and hitting talent in Pakistan is. Afridi is a very poor hitter. How many times did he fail to control himself and bat for the team?

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Afridi still got it.

Still D.R.E!!

 

[Smbhayi]

just see this in WhatsApp. I thought it was his celebration after winning shot lol.

 

[Smbhayi]

I'm glad to have watched Afridi in his prime years (2011-2016) with plenty of match winning performances with bat and ball (and some exceptional fielding) and I don't regret missing out on anything before 2011 (except for his fastest ODI hundred).

to me his prime year was 2005 to 2011. was a top utility player those times.

 

[Naseef]

Even today when Afridi bats my emotions take a roller coaster ride!! When I saw Hampshire scored 249 in 20 overs my first thought was what did Afridi do and wasn't I overjoyed to see that 101 beside his name!! The best ever hitter of the cricket ball!!

 

[shaz619]

to me his prime year was 2005 to 2011. was a top utility player those times.

Afridi is never in or out of his prime

 

[CricFan2012]

Dropped twice and look at all this praise.

He scored 30 odd and should have been out there. This innings holds no values like many others where players have been dropped

 

[Major]

Dropped twice and look at all this praise.

He scored 30 odd and should have been out there. This innings holds no values like many others where players have been dropped

Bro if you want to do such analysis. Trust me you wont find a century where a player wasnt dropped.

Almost every century is made due to a catch being dropped.

There are very few centuries that get made due to a player not getting dropped

 

[shaz619]

Dropped twice and look at all this praise.

He scored 30 odd and should have been out there. This innings holds no values like many others where players have been dropped

A lot of players ride their luck, anyhow that first drop was seriously difficult; had it been taken he still would have done his job. Then he was dropped on 66 and that was a sitter. Anyhow still deserves credit for the hundred, Sachin got like 50 reprieves in his 2011 WC semi final MOM knock

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

He is the greatest hitter to have ever played the game along with Jayasuriya. I will give him that.

Afridi was a very good limited overs player between 2005 and 2012. Outside of that period, he was a burden on the team.

He was one of the best ODI bowlers from 2007 till 2011 something. Batting always was inconsistent. But that's lala unfortunately.

 

[ExplicitAI]

to me his prime year was 2005 to 2011. was a top utility player those times.

Na 2011 and onwards was where he fully played to his potential as a bowler and batsman, I literally saw everything in him I wanted to see in an allrounder.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hold on. Are there players on the field tonight who weren't born when Afridi was already playing International cricket? &#55357;&#56883;&#55357;&#56834;<a href="https://twitter.com/NatWestT20Blast">@NatWestT20Blast</a></p>— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyNeesh/status/900054039051849730">August 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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What do you think, Jimmy?

 

[Slog]

Dropped twice and look at all this praise.

He scored 30 odd and should have been out there. This innings holds no values like many others where players have been dropped

This is stupid logic

In Tendulkar often-praised 98 vs Pakistan in WC 2003, he was dropped early on by Razzaq. Dolly catch

In 2011 Teenda was dropped FOUR times

Should those runs never count?

 

[greatest]

No doubt this was one of the greatest knocks ever played in county cricket. Afridi would have have ended his career as one of the greats of the game if he had played for England or Australia.

 

[greatest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hold on. Are there players on the field tonight who weren't born when Afridi was already playing International cricket? &#55357;&#56883;&#55357;&#56834;<a href="https://twitter.com/NatWestT20Blast">@NatWestT20Blast</a></p>— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyNeesh/status/900054039051849730">August 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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What do you think, Jimmy?

Yes, all these young players finally got to see a batting masterclass from the legend. They will remember this knock throughout their lives and will describe it with pride to their children and grandchildren.

 

[nextover666666]

vintage afridi looked like gold playing that inninngs love that hairstyle too, should keep his hair long like before.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

A superb innings by Boom Boom. People should just enjoy it for what it was though, talks of an international comeback are silly. I mean Paul Collingwood hit a T20 century a few weeks ago - should he come back into the England side now too?

 

[idrizzy]

You can't mess with this champ beauty youngsta

 

[CricFan2012]

This is stupid logic

In Tendulkar often-praised 98 vs Pakistan in WC 2003, he was dropped early on by Razzaq. Dolly catch

In 2011 Teenda was dropped FOUR times

Should those runs never count?

Those were fluke innnings and when being rated they should not count.

 

[Lefthanded]

Two drops, lots of full tosses, half-volleys and lucky mis-hits in a U-16 distance to the boundary.

It's like they wanted him to score a 100 and gifted dada-abbu this innings.

It's the sort of innings that one expects a tail-ender version of Symonds to play.

Still, I'm happy for the guy who is all smiles.

 

[as-95]

Someone post the highlights vid

 

[Abdullah719]

Someone post the highlights vid

You mean the one in OP?...

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The story of Shahid Afridi's career confirmed in his last 2 innings for Hampshire:<br>101 from 43 balls<br>0 from 1 ball today<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/903997092867268608">September 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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