AUS vs PAK | Twitter in splits as Afridi's premature celebration gets humbled by Shafique's shocker
Tests are synonymous with hard work, especially for pacers, as they patiently set up the batters before the payoff finally arrives. Imagine then the horror of Shaheen Afridi on Tuesday as his celebratory overture after all the labor was rudely interrupted by Abdullah Shafique dropping a sitter.
Australia set themselves up for another expectedly dominant performance in the opening session of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground against Pakistan as the opening partnership between David Warner and Usman Khawaja crossed the 50-run mark. However, the success did not come all too easy for the hosts as the duo had to survive a probing spell from the new ball pair of Shaheen Afridi and Hamza Mir with the former looking particularly threatening. The left-arm pacer drew a thick outside edge off Khawaja in the first over itself and had Warner done for good in his ensuing over, only to be let down by typical Pakistan fielding.
Afridi tested the retirement-bound southpaw throughout his second over, getting ever so close to extracting the outside edge on the penultimate ball before finally accomplishing the feat to cap off the six-ball set. The red cherry traveled from a squared-off Warner's willow straight into Abdullah Shafique's hands stationed at first slip with the fielder not having to move an inch to seal the deal but the 24-year-old somehow managed to make a meal out of it as it burst through his mitts and dropped on the grass. Not only did the shocking effort rob Afridi of a well-earned scalp but also led to an embarrassing moment for the Pakistan spearhead as he had already raised his hand in celebration during the follow-through, expecting the catch to be completed, before being let down.
Incidentally, Shafique had also dropped Usman Khawaja in the first session in the West Test which had eventually ended in a drubbing for the Men in Green and Twitterati was quick to draw the parallels.
Absolute shocker
David Warner gets a life on two! Shaheen Afridi gets the ball swinging and Abdullah Shafique puts it down at first slip #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/EJc4AptxJk
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 25, 2023
Afridi had even started celebrating!!
— Travis Head (@TravisHead8441) December 26, 2023
Horrible drop
Pakistani Fans to Abdullah Shafique right now after dropping a dolly of Warner 😡👀#Warner || #Shaheen || #PAKvsAUS pic.twitter.com/9tViD20Gzn
— Haris Arshad (@harris00071) December 26, 2023
True
Abdullah Shafique 🤦 you couldn't ask for an easier catch in the slips!#AUSvPAK
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) December 25, 2023
Misery!
Lanat on Abdullah Shafique
— Cric mate (@Crickymate07) December 25, 2023
Dropped a sitter again.
Warner surviving 🤡#PAKvsAUS
Pathetic
Horrible.
— Rizwan Rehmat (@dohagames) December 25, 2023
What pathetic piece of slip catching.
Abdullah Shafique did the same in the first Test. pic.twitter.com/q3ChTB5Mqo
Yes mate!
So you all are telling me that, once again, Abdullah Shafique dropped the catch of David Warner? 🥲🥲 #PAKvsAUS
— CRICKET.FAN.GIRL🇵🇸||MISS YOU APUN😭|| (@cricketfangir1) December 26, 2023
Not so easy
*Easiest Catch Of The century dropped by Abdullah Shafique 🤦♂️*#PAKvsAUS #BoxingDayTest #catchdrop #BabarAzam𓃵 pic.twitter.com/nANb9oQz4A
— Ajwa (@Ajwa2345) December 26, 2023
Sad
PCT fans to Abdullah Shafique #AUSvsPAK pic.twitter.com/kb7c6MY3eB
— عاقد (@aquidtweets) December 25, 2023
Unbelievable
As regulation a catch as any slipper in the world could have dreamt of.
— Behram Qazi 🇵🇰 🇨🇦 (@DeafMango) December 25, 2023
Abdullah Shafique will be feeling the heat after shelling that dolly.