Shahid Afridi might have finally retired (we think) from international cricket but on Friday, the 37-year-old pulled off what could well go down as one of the best catches of all time.
Playing for Karachi Kings in the third edition of Pakistan Super League, Afridi rolled back the years and completed a stunning effort at the boundary line in the second match of the T20 franchise tournament that kicked off on Thursday in Dubai.
The left-handed Umar Amin was on strike against Mohammed Irfan Jr in a tight run-chase for Quetta Gladiators. The ball landed in the hitting zone of the batsman, who cleared his front leg, freed his arms and swung through the line. He hadn’t middled it however, and ended up getting more height than distance. Stationed at long on, Afridi was a few inches ahead of the boundary ropes. With the ball well over his head, he stretched his right hand, plucked the ball out of thin air, threw the ball back just in time, and completed a stunning routine.
CricProf, a statistical analysis-based account on Twitter, said that this was a catch that had a mere 5% chance of success. That’s how good that take was.
And of course, Afridi being Afridi, celebrated the catch in his typical style - arms aloft, soaking the adulation in, as the crowd in Dubai went ballistic.
Watch it here:
Afridi’s catch sent social media into a frenzy.
Boom boom, indeed!
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