IND vs PAK 2022: (Watch) Shaheen Shah Afridi smacks Arshdeep Singh for a six and a four in successive deliveries

Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi may have made a massive impact even before he swung his arms with the new ball.

The left-arm speedster lifted his side with the bat with a much-needed cameo, hitting a four and a six in the eight deliveries he faced.

The two boundaries came off Arshdeep Singh's final over in the third and fourth deliveries, respectively, pushing Pakistan's score towards 150.

The six came off a pull shot in the square leg region, while he smashed a boundary straight past mid-off, where Hardik Pandya didn't even move a muscle.

He tried to go for another pull shot in the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, it caught the toe end of the bat and went to the bowler.

However, the 22-year-old added 31 with the first drop, Shan Masood, in quick time as Pakistan recovered from 15-2 to put on a competitive 159 for their bowlers.

Arshdeep Singh, who finished with figures of 4-0-32-3, dismissed both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan cheaply. Nevertheless, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood weathered the storm to string together a partnership of 76.

The duo were two out of three Pakistani batters to get to double figures and were the only batters to pass 50 runs.

---

"It was very a tough phase in the rehab process" - Shaheen Shah Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi. (Credits: Getty)

Afridi, who missed some of Pakistan's recent matches due to injury, described the challenges during the rehab process and said the aim was to play in the T20 World Cup.

As quoted by the Indian Express, the youngster said:

"It was very a tough phase in the rehab process and I missed playing on the field. But despite being away from the game I did call my teammates at times and spoke to them. At first I could not even walk. But the aim was to play in the T20 World Cup and my focus was on doctors’ advice."

He added:

"I had never had such an injury and the feeling of walking with braces was quite difficult. I used to experience pain but took things slowly and then reaped benefits."

The star cricketer starred last year against India with figures of 4-0-31-3, dismissing the top three batters to fashion Pakistan's ten-wicket win.