Following India’s loss in the Cricket World Cup final against Australia, a video clip featuring Shahid Afridi has been circulated widely on social media. In the video, the former Pakistan captain and T20 World Cup champion, Afridi, appeared as a panelist on Samaa TV, expressing his belief that ‘overconfidence’ could be a decisive factor in India’s World Cup defeat. He remarked, “Jab aap continuously jeete jaate ho, toh aap overconfident bhi ho jaate hain, wo aapko marwa deti hai” (when you consistently win, you tend to become overconfident, and that can lead to your downfall).
The noteworthy aspect of the video is that Afridi made this observation at the moment when India lost its third wicket, with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul batting in the middle.
Final Match Summary
Put to bat first, India could manage only 240 runs, getting all out on the last ball of their innings. Despite losing Shubman Gill early in just the fifth over at an individual score, team India couldn’t build up on an aggressive start from the captain Rohit Sharma, who scored 47 off just 31 balls while going after Maxwell in the final over of the powerplay.
The experienced KL Rahul and Virat Kohli tried to steady the ship in the middle overs, but once Kohli got out in the 29th over, Rahul could only see wickets falling on the other end for the remaining innings. Rahul scored 66 runs off 101 balls, while Kohli scored 54 runs off 63 balls.
Later with the ball, India started poorly, giving runs in extras. However, India managed to get through the top wickets early in the powerplay. Bumrah took a couple of wickets, while Shami took a wicket in the powerplay. It was Travis Head, whose impactful tonne in the final made the difference. Travis Head’s mammoth 137 off 120 balls ensured that the Indian team was drifted away from contention.
Who is Shahid Afridi?
Shahid Afridi has represented Pakistan in 398 One Day Internationals, scoring over 8,000 runs and taking 395 wickets. A dynamic striker, Afridi has cleared the ropes 351 times in his career and maintained a strike rate of 117 throughout his long career. He has played International cricket for 22 years and is considered one of the best all-rounders to have played for his country.