Legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar found himself reliving his iconic delivery to West Indian legend Brian Lara after fiery pacer Ihsanullah's recent performance during a T20I match against Afghanistan caught the eye of netizens, who compared the young fast bowler to the Pakistani great.
In a post on Twitter, Akhtar shared a video clip combining footage from his and Ihsanullah's performances.
"One of the most memorable moments relived because of this," he wrote.
Despite losing the first two matches in the T20I series against Afghanistan, the Green Shirts managed to prevent a series whitewash with their bowlers defending a total of 183 runs in the last T20I at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.
During the game, the bowler that stood out was the fiery pacer Ihsanullah who performed magnificently in the final match of the series, taking three wickets off only 29 runs in just four overs.
Ihsanullah dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz (18) and Karim Janat (nought) before his sharp bouncer at Najibullah Zadran. During the 11th over, the pacer left Najibullah's chin bleeding due to his sharp bouncer, which restricted the player from continuing the match.
Najibullah was stable but could not resume his innings. Ihsanullah later checked on the fellow cricketer to see if he is fine.
Ihsanullah's delivery went viral as social media users compared the firey bowler with former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who was known for his aggressive bowling style.
Here were some of the comments:
Afghan sportstar receives heartfelt congratulation messages from fellow cricketers including Mohammad Nabi
Batting first, Green Shirts posted a total of 116 runs and in reply, Lankans could only score 85 runs
Pakistan have won tournament four times since its inception in 1993
Veteran cricketer also proposes two names as new contenders for captaincy post
Championship will feature athletes from seven South Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal
Abdul Qadir’s son says he will be continuing his dad's legacy, embracing his love for cricket
