PAK vs SA | Twitter shocked as Afridi responds to Breetzke's raised bat threat by tripping him up

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

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There's a fine line between intense encounters in the heat of the battle and sheer disrespect not befitting and sporting field, and in Karachi on Wednesday, it was all about the latter. Shaheen Afridi and Matthew Breetzke nearly came to blows in their tri-nation series ODI in physical confrontation.

The South African top-order looked in fine fettle against Pakistan in what could be their last ODI before the Champions Trophy with New Zealand already qualified to the tri-series knock-out, making their encounter on Wednesday in Karachi a virtual knockout. After a 51-run opening stand between Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi, the skipper wnet on to score 82 off 96 deliveries while Matthew Breetzke followed up his century on debut with a nearly run-a-ball 83. The duo shared a 119-run stand for the second wicket that looked unbreakable and the frustration in the opposition camp reached a boil at one stage, culminating in an ugly clash between prmeier pacer Shaheen Afridi and Breetzke.

On the penultimate delivery of the 30th over, Breetzke fended Shaheen off his pads and shuffled a couple of steps forward in anticipation of a single but when it did not arrive, the Proteas batter got into a fighting stance and raised his bat parallel to his waist as if threatening the bowler. Enraged, Shaheen strolled down the deck with purpose while spitting a slew of heated words at Breetzke who did not hesitate from sharing his view either but ultimately Bavuma and Mohammad Rizwan intervened to end the saga, little aware of what was to come. On the next ball, Breetke clipped a full ball to the on-side for a comfortable single and unbeknownst to him, Shaheen was seeking revenge. The bowler paused after his follow-through and just as the batter was passing him by, Shaheen turned around with a raised back leg to trip up Breetzke and nearly send him sprawling to the ground. An even more heated exchange of words followed with both men in each other's face before Shaheen ultimately shoved his lesser-experienced rival away even as the umpires and fielders came streaming to keep things from getting physical.

Twitter, as amused as it was by the occurrences, expressed grief at such hostility existing on the cricket field.

Tempers flare

Absolute peach of delivery!

HaHa!

Wht!!!

Things get heated!!!

Unexpected clash

Heated moment!

Collision sparks brief tension

Heated Moment!

Umpires step in quickly

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