Aaron Finch: Probably another One Hit Wonder - Arsalan Shaikh

Just a couple of days of back, the world witnessed one of the most brutal innings in the history of international cricket. Aaron Finch of Australia single handedly destroyed the English bowling attack. He made the record of highest individual runs in a T20 innings of 153 runs on just 63 deliveries. He also broke the record of most sixes in an innings of Chris Gayle who had 13 sixes by hitting 14 in the innings.

The 26 year old Aussie opener left no place to hide for the English men. The inning he played was worth seeing and just could not be praised in words. But, has the world found another batsman that can become a nightmare for the bowlers?

Well, Aaron Finch is not a very unfamiliar name to the world. He has been in the top performers in the domestic season of the Aussies and had performed incredibly well in the latest edition of KFC Big Bash. Melbourne Renegades was being captained by Aaron Finch and lead from the front to the semis.

Unfortunately, the franchise could not qualify to the finals, but, Aaron Finch throughout the tournament performed with consistency. He proved his worth by scoring a century and did not overshadow even in the lights of Chris Gayle who represented Sydney Thunder.

The Consistent performance earned him a place in the T20 and One Day International squad against the West Indies that was came to play on Aussies’ soil. However, the hard-hitting opener did not give any worth discussing performance. As there has been a tradition in Australia’s cricket, they give the maximum opportunity to every player to show his class and the same similar case is with Aaron Finch. He took a long span of time to show what he is capable of. And finally after the reckless defeat of 3-0 by the hands of England in the recent Ashes series, it was may be the anger that expressed by
Finch.

Although, Aaron Finch has captured all the attention of the world and is being rated pretty high regarding his capabilities, I still rate him as a ‘One Hit Wonder’. I personally do not think that he can be reliable asset for the Cricket Australia in the future. A number of players rocked the world in a game or two and then they just dropped from the scene for not delivering much to their country. There have been some players who proven to be the master of this Gentleman’s game just at the domestic circuit or leagues. So the answer to the question that I raised above is probably ‘No’. Well, only the time will tell that my perception about the record holding batsman is correct or not.

Writer: Arsalan Shaikh
Source: www.thenews.com.pk

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More records coming for Boom Boom - Awais Sohrab

Shahid Afridi has lately been in talks before and after his successful Caribbean Tour. Shahid Afridi has always been in talks, sometimes for his boom boom performances and sometimes for his blunt remarks over the media.

It is hard to keep him out of the limelight and that is why he is adored and loved by millions in Pakistan and outside Pakistan. Shahid Afridi is a part of T20 and ODI Squad which will take on a low ranked Zimbabwe from 23rd August in the first T20. Zimbabwe have been going through difficult times after getting whitewashed by a young talented Indian side led by Virat Kohli and followed by financial crisis which forced the Zimbabwe Cricketers to withdrew from practicing ahead of the series.

We all know what Shahid Afridi has achieved in his 17 years of cricket with tons of international
records. Shahid Afridi will have one more opportunity in the upcoming T20 and ODI Series to grab some more records under his name and take a further lead in some of his other.

Records to looks for in T20:

-Shahid Afridi has 916 runs in T20 and 64 wickets to his name. 84 more runs will make Shahid Afridi the first ever cricketer to achieve a feat of scoring 1000 runs with 50 plus wickets.
-Shahid Afridi has 8 Man of The Match awards to his name in 61 T20s, joint highest with Shane Watson of Australia. One more MOM in T20 will take Shahid Afridi to 9.
-Shahid Afridi is the only player in T20 Cricket to have 2 Man of the Series awards, no other player have achieved this feat so far. -Shahid Afridi currently has played 61 International T20s; one more T20 will make him the joint highest along with Brendon McCullum with 62 T20s.

Records to look for in ODI:

-Shahid Afridi has 7266 runs to his name in ODI in 327 innings, 115 more runs will take Shahid Afridi to 7381 which equals Javed Miandad’s record and will make him the 4th highest runs scorer from Pakistan.
-Shahid Afridi has taken 5 wickets in an ODI 9 times, one more 5 haul will take Shahid Afridi to 10 and will become the second highest bowler after Waqar Younis with 13 and joint highest with Muttiah Muralitharan with 10.
Will Shahid Afridi be a success against a low ranked Zimbabwe? Will Shahid Afridi complete 1000 runs in 2 T20’s? Will Shahid Afridi be able to become the 4th highest runs scorer from Pakistan in ODI? Have your say!

Writer: Awais Sohrab

Source: www.thenews.com.pk

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