Credit: Instagram
During the batting innings of Pakistan, Abdullah Shafique survived a massive scare after poor communication between Dilshan Madushanka and Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka led to a dropped catch in the ODI World Cup 2023. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, Pakistan are currently in pursuit of chasing down a daunting target of 345 on October 10, Tuesday, after Sri Lanka's top order tore into their bowlers.
As the scoreboard read 61/2, it was the fourth ball of the 14th over in the run chase, which Matheesha Pathirana, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, dug in short to Abdullah Shafique. The ball got too big for the Pakistan opener to control on the pull, spooning it high in the air towards the fine leg region.
Watch the drop catch of Abdullah Shafique here:
But, the smaller length of the outfield behind the wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium meant that the ball kept flying high in the air, with two fielders trying to get underneath it around the fine leg boundary. Dilshan Madushanka, who was running from the fine leg region, spotted Pathum Nissanka in his vision, coming towards him from the square leg region.
The momentary hesitation from Madushanka in his attempt to catch the ball, as Nissanka stopped in his tracks, led to the ball carrying over the boundary rope for a maximum. Both the Sri Lankan fielders looked at each other in disdain as Abdullah Shafique not only survived for the time being but gained six runs in the process.
As of this writing, Pakistan were 110/2 in 20 overs, with Abdullah Shafique (51 off 49) and Mohammad Rizwan (28 off 34) putting some impetus in the run chase. Earlier, in the first powerplay, Sri Lanka picked up the key wickets of Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam cheaply, to put themselves in a great position to register their first win of the ODI World Cup 2023.