T20 World Cup 2021: Shaheen Afridi and the tale of 2 overs

Cricket can be a cruel sport. Just ask Shaheen Afridi.

One moment, you could be bowling an unplayable first over in a T20 World Cup semi-final, and in another not long after, be hit for three consecutive sixes which win the match for your opponents.

It may seem unfair, but that is what fate had in store for Shaheen Shah Afridi on Thursday.

A total of 176 set up courtesy of half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan seemed to be good enough against Australia. It was the highest by any team in Dubai in the tournament so far.

Pakistan had a bowling attack to defend it too. Spearheading that bowling attack? Shaheen Afridi.

Afridi showed in his very first over at the 2021 T20 World Cup just why he is considered among the most dangerous pacers in the world in the shortest format of the game.

Bowling against India, he trapped Rohit Sharma lbw for a golden duck off the fourth ball of the first over of their Super 12 encounter. In his next over, he got one to swing in and go through the gates of India's other opener, KL Rahul.

Since then, teams have been cautious against Pakistan in Afridi's first few overs, knowing just what the speedster can do.

Australia probably had similar plans, but all the caution in the world could not have saved Aaron Finch. It was the third delivery of the over and David Warner had taken a single to get his opening partner on strike.

And then Afridi bowled an absolute ripper. It was fast, too fast for Finch, and it was swinging in and it trapped him plumb in front. The Australian captain walked back for a golden duck. Cricket can be a cruel game. Rohit Sharma can tell Finch all about it.

Mitchell Marsh was the next man in and could have been the next man out very soon.

Afridi's first ball to Marsh was a swinging yorker that hit him full on the toes. The left-arm seamer wheeled away in celebration, almost certain to have given Pakistan not one, but two huge breakthroughs in the first over.

The umpire, however, was unmoved. Pakistan reviewed the decision and it turned out to be "umpire's call" on impact as well as hitting wickets.

But Afridi wasn't done. This time he hit a good length, but the ball swung in sharply to beat Marsh's inside edge. An absolute jaffa.

Marsh defended the final delivery, but the first over of Australia's chase was a chaotic one and Shaheen Afridi was architect-in-chief behind all the mayhem. One run, one wicket and two deliveries that were so close to taking two more wickets. It was the perfect start with the ball for Pakistan.

On any other day, it would be the start that would see his team win the match. But as mentioned earlier, cricket is a cruel game.

Matthew Wade crashes Shaheen Afridi and Pakistan's party

Shaheen Afridi came on to bowl the penultimate over of the match. The momentum had shifted slightly in Australia's favor after a few good overs of batting from Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade.

After that peach of a first over, Afridi bowled the third and 15th overs of Australia's innings. In the third, he gave away seven runs and in the 15th, just six. It was a good day for Afridi, and Shadab Khan's four-wicket haul only made it better for Pakistan until then.

Shaheen Afridi was brilliant for a large majority of his spell in the T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Australia needed 62 off the last five, at just over 12 runs an over. But Stoinis kept finding the boundary off Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf to ensure they kept up with the required rate.

They still needed 22 off 12 and Pakistan still had Shaheen Afridi. But in the space of one over, Afridi's night went from great to catastrophic. Scratch that. It happened in the space of three balls.

In the first delivery of his final over, Afridi drew an edge from Stoinis with a cutter, but the ball didn't carry to the wicket-keeper. The next ball hit Stoinis on the pad as he missed a whip through the leg-side.

Pakistan reviewed, but the ball had pitched outside leg. Stoinis survived and played his part in the match, having run one for a leg-bye.

Afridi tried a yorker next and ended up bowling a wide down leg.

As he bowled the third delivery of the over again, he could have changed the match as Wade hoisted it high on the leg-side, but Hasan Ali overran it and the catch slipped through his hands. Two runs for Australia and a huge opportunity gone begging for Pakistan, who had been faultless in their fielding throughout the tournament up until that moment.

Then Wade took over. Afridi attempted a yorker, but the southpaw anticipated it and shuffled across to scoop it well over the fine leg boundary.

The next ball was a cutter outside off-stump at fullish length and Wade made no mistake in smashing it over midwicket.

Afridi went back to his yorker and Wade read him again, and with another scoop - this time over the wicketkeeper - he made it three sixes in a row to book Australia a berth in the final against New Zealand.

It would be unfair to say that Australia won because of those three balls from Afridi or even Hasan Ali's dropped catch. Hitting 20 off nine deliveries at the death was far from improbable and Australia would still have Marcus Stoinis, with capable hitters Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to follow, had Ali held on.

And defending 22 off 12 is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination on a pitch that looked fairly good to bat on by that time in the match.

And for 21 deliveries from his quota, Shaheen Afridi was brilliant and had done everything in his power to give Pakistan every advantage he could have.

But it might well be the final three balls that will be remembered.