Shaheen Afridi made a sensational debut in The Hundred 2023, inspiring Welsh Fire’s victory over Manchester Originals in a rain-affected match at Sophia Gardens. The game was shortened to 40 balls per side due to weather conditions.
Luke Wells played a remarkable innings, scoring 57 runs off just 23 balls, propelling Welsh Fire to a total of 94-3. Shaheen Afridi made an immediate impact with the ball, taking two wickets with his first two deliveries in the Originals’ innings, eventually restricting them to 85-4.
Welsh Fire’s victory marked a turnaround from their struggles in the previous season. Luke Wells’ explosive batting and Shaheen Afridi’s brilliant debut performance added excitement to The Hundred.
Captain Jos Buttler led the Manchester Originals with an unbeaten 37 runs, but their late resurgence fell short of victory. Luke Wells revealed that the team adjusted their batting approach on short notice due to the reduced match duration.
As for the 2nd match of the day between the London Spirits and the Oval Invincibles, it is the Oval side that walked out victorious. Batting first, London scored 131 runs in their 100 balls. Oval won the match with 1 ball remaining at the end.
Sunil Narine of Oval Invincibles was named the man of the match for his performance was the ball and the bat. He took 2 wickets in his 20 balls and gave away just 14 runs while other bowlers were expensive.
Narine also contributed lower down the order with the bat as he scored the crucial 13 runs of 5 balls.
At the end of the third match of the The Hundred 2023 season, it is the Welse Fire who are at the top of the points table followed by Trent Rockets and then Oval Invincibles.
The electrifying performances in The Hundred continue to captivate cricket fans, and the ongoing season promises more enthralling matches as players and teams showcase their skills in this dynamic cricket format. On 3rd August, the 4th match of The Hundred will be played between the Northern Superchargers and the Birmingham Phoenix from 11 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) tonight.
This is @iShaheenAfridi, everyone 🦅 #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/NGhPJZ9QqX
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 2, 2023
