Taking to social media, the Pakistan cricket team fans took a jibe at Abbas Afridi and Irfan Khan’s decision-making during the second T20 International against South Africa as Saim Ayub remained 98 not out at the other end with the two others facing most of the deliveries in last two overs.
Despite Saim Ayub’s impressive 98-run innings, he fell short of achieving a century due to what the fans believed was the ‘lack of support’ from his teammates. The netizens felt that Abbas Afridi and Irfan Khan should have taken singles to help Saim Ayub reach the milestone.
One fan commented, “When they need to take singles, they try to hit big shots, which is not their strength.” Another user, Tariq Kaman, expressed his disappointment, saying, “Neither the joy of winning nor the sorrow of losing would be as painful as seeing Saim miss his century.”
WATCH: Saim Ayub puts the team first, denies strike on 98
Meanwhile, in a video that went viral on social media, Saim Ayub can be heard stopping Abbas Afridi from taking a single in the last over. “No single now,” the left-handed batter told Abbas Afridi during the last over of Pakistan’s innings.
The left-handed batter; however, won millions of hearts as he displayed great sportsmanship and selflessness, asking Abbas Afridi to hit boundaries instead of giving a strike back to him.
Pakistan scored 206 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted overs, setting a target of 207 runs for South Africa.
South Africa chased down the target of 207 in 19.3 overs to win the game by seven wickets to secure the three-match series 2-0.
Reeza Hendricks scored 117 runs off 63 balls with the help of seven sixes and 10 fours.
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