Abdullah Shafique‘s incredible century in Pakistan’s record run-chase against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad might just be the start of something very special, writes Naman Agarwal, who was at the venue.
A 23-year-old Pakistani making his World Cup debut in India in front of 25,000 people – in terms of enormity of stakes, this would be somewhere right at the top. But it wasn’t enormous enough to faze Abdullah Shafique, who, in a near-flawless display of batting, conquered the occasion at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and announced his arrival in style.
It was clear that Pakistan would sooner or later back out on Fakhar Zaman. Achieving this so soon after the start of the World Cup was a step that few expected, especially after the win over the Netherlands, where players and coaches focused their efforts on the left-handed opener. Still, they did it, and future superstars may have been able to get the attention their talents deserve.
Shafiq attracted attention with Fakhar’s opening goal. Shafiq had already proven his Test credentials, made a name for himself in white-ball cricket, and was gradually finding his way into the Pakistan white-ball team.
Shafique first joined the Pakistan ODI team three years ago in 2020, but only made his ODI debut against the Netherlands in August last year. He had only three ODIs to his name when he was selected in Pakistan’s World Cup reserve squad. Among other things, it showed that Pakistani think tanks had confidence in his abilities. It only took him one game to return that belief.
Shafiq displayed a masterful performance in batting on the plains of Hyderabad. Pakistan doesn’t often experience big chases in ODIs. It was largely due to Shafik’s solidity at one end that they achieved it on this occasion and recorded his second successful run chase of over 340 runs in ODI history.
Despite two wickets falling around him early on, including that of pivot Babar Azam, Shafique remained calm and did not succumb to the scoreboard pressure. The hallmark of his innings was running between the wickets. Of his 113 runs his 55 (almost half) were in singles and doubles.
In between, Shafiq showed his range. He specifically slammed the side of his leg into the sailors. The short ones were pulled away or dumped between square leg and midwicket. Against spin, Shafiq showed his class, using the crease deftly and never missing a chance to drive around the track and throw the Sri Lankan spinners away.
Shafiq upped the ante by reaching 50 off 58 balls in the 19th over of the chase. He completed his next 50 on 39 pitches. The shot to reach 100 was his most productive move of the night. Of course, he roared and bowed to enjoy the audience’s applause. But the speed with which he returned to his zone and carried on with the innings as if his work was only half done showed a maturity beyond his years.
When he was finally dismissed, Pakistan’s score was 213-3 in 33.1 overs. He created a platform for the Middle Order to end the pursuit, which they eventually did.
Pakistan has always had an abundance of batting talent. Shafiq had already shown that he was something different at Test level – his batting average was 80 after six Tests – but this knock at the highest level signaled his promotion to the next level. Ta.
Pakistan now has every reason to believe it has superstars across formats for the future. And if you don’t want to think too far into the future, the next five weeks is plenty of time to schedule.
Based on his recent form and confidence, Shafique is much safer for Pakistan than Fakhar for the World Cup. He seems confident in the crease and he knows where his runs are coming from, both qualities Fakhar currently lacks.
If the crowd for Shafiq’s first World Cup match in Hyderabad was large, the crowd for his second match in Ahmedabad on October 14 will be five times larger. If the stakes were high in Hyderabad, the stakes will be immeasurably higher in Ahmedabad. Already off to the right start, Shafiq now has a chance to make the World Cup his own.
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