Shaheen Shah Afridi: Lack of Partnerships Cost Pakistan in Narrow Defeat to England

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi admitted that his side fell short due to the absence of solid partnerships in their innings, following a tight loss to England cricket team in Pallekele.

Pakistan posted 164 for 9 on what proved to be a batting-friendly surface, a total that always appeared slightly under par. England chased down the target with two wickets in hand and five balls remaining, capitalising on the flat conditions.

Unlike the pitch used in England’s previous match against Sri Lanka national cricket team earlier in the tournament, Tuesday’s surface had not been used before and offered better conditions for stroke play.

Reflecting on the defeat, Afridi pointed to the team’s failure to build partnerships during the middle overs as a decisive factor.

“On a wicket like this, you need a partnership and a set batter who can bat through the middle overs,” Afridi said. “Unfortunately, we lost wickets back to back, which prevented us from reaching 180 or 190. If we had scored 15 to 25 more runs, we could have defended it.”

Afridi highlighted England’s approach as a contrast, singling out Harry Brook for anchoring the chase. Brook remained composed at the crease, rotating the strike effectively and building crucial partnerships that steered England home.

“A partnership requires someone who can consistently take singles and twos,” Afridi explained. “In T20 cricket, you need to maintain eight or nine runs per over while building partnerships. We missed that opportunity.”

He also credited England leg-spinner Adil Rashid for his impact during the middle phase of the innings, acknowledging that Rashid’s disciplined bowling restricted Pakistan’s scoring momentum.

Despite the team’s defeat, the match marked a return to form for Afridi personally. Having struggled on spinner-friendly tracks in Colombo earlier in the tournament, the left-arm pacer made an immediate impact in Pallekele. He dismissed Phil Salt with the very first ball of the match and finished with impressive figures of 4 for 30. Afridi’s final wicket was that of centurion Brook, capping off a strong individual performance.

“Whenever I play, my job is to take wickets early. That’s why I bowl the first over,” Afridi said. “Today, I had planned how to get that first wicket.”

While Pakistan fell just short on the scoreboard, Afridi’s performance with the ball offered a positive takeaway as the team looks to address its middle-order concerns in the matches ahead.