PAK vs UAE | Twitter in splits as Afridi brought crashing to ground after premature celebration

‌Shaheen Shah Afridi came up with a blistering cameo to help Pakistan post 146/9 against the United Arab Emirates in a must-win game in the Asia Cup T20 2025. He complimented Fakhar Zaman’s half-century to pull the Men in Green out of a hole to a respectable total. Medium pacer Junaid Siddique once again shone with the ball, picking up 4/18 in four overs, while left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh ended with figures of 3/26 in his four-over spell. 

The UAE chase began on a positive note with opener Alishan Sharafu punching Afridi through the covers, off his back foot, in the first ball of the innings. Th left-arm pacer, however, came back as his booming inswinger went through the defence of the batter to keeper Mohammad Haris.

There was a slight sound as a confident-looking Afridi continued his run-up, raising his hand in celebration. But the on-field umpire was unmoved and stood firm with his not-out call as Afridi pleaded with the skipper to go for the review. The keeper was not sure though, as captain Salman Agha decided to skip the review, and the clock ran down to zero.

A frustrated Afridi walked back to his mark, but the replays showed a clear gap between bat and ball as the Kokkaburra shaved Sharafu’s pad before going to the keeper. Twitter was in splits as Afridi quickly realised his folly and continued with the over.