Shoaib Akhtar was present during the fifth and final T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand. The Men in Green managed to between the B team of the Kiwis by 9 runs to level the series 2-2. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the star of Pakistan’s win, taking 4 wickets while conceding just 30 runs from his four overs.
He imitated Shoaib Akhtar’s iconic wing celebration style and even blew a flying kiss in the legendary pacer’s direction after dismissing a batter. The former T20I captain was paying tribute to the fastest seamer ever in international cricket.
Shoaib, who had earlier slammed Afridi for his flying kiss gesture, heaped massive praise on the young bowler.
“Thank you @iShaheenAfridi for such a lovely gesture today during the match! You were amazing today. Keep going,” Shoaib Akhtar wrote on X.
New Zealand were without their leading players due to their commitments to the Indian Premier League 2024. Still, the hosts lost two matches and almost conceded the T20IS series. Although Pakistan used the contests to test its bench strength before the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024, they were expected to win the series comfortably.
Babar Azam (69) and Fakhar Zaman (48) provided some respectability to the total as Pakistan posted 178/5. For the visitors, five bowlers took 1 wicket each, respectively.
Chasing 179 for a rare series win in the sub-continent country, Tim Seifert (52), Josh Clarkson (38 not out), and Michael Bracewell (23) threatened Pakistan, but Shaheen’s four wickets won the game for his side as New Zealand were bowled out for 169 runs in 19.2 overs.
The nine-run win helped Pakistan to finish the series 2-2.