Naseem Shah, on his T20I debut for Pakistan, finished with figures of 27/2 in four overs against India at the Asia Cup 2022. The two teams locked horns at the Dubai International Stadium. 

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Shah, who impressed selectors and fans with his steamy deliveries in Tests, was handed his maiden T20I cap on Sunday. Pakistan were defending 148 runs. The pressure was on when the 19-year-old came in to bowl his first over. After bowling a back of a length delivery on middle, the pacer followed up with a short one outside off. The ball caught KL Rahul playing a nothing shot onto the stumps. 

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Naseem Shah then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav. Back in the stands, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been ruled out of the Asia Cup, was cheering for the 19-year-old. 

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The two share surnames and the quality to rattle a star-studded Indian batting line-up. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan’s premier pacer for the last two years, had troubled the Men in Blue in the 2021 T20 World Cup. He dismissed the top-three – Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – to guide his side to a 10-wicket win. 

In a similar fashion, with lethal swing and express pace, Naseem tormented the Indian top-order and almost pulled off a win for Pakistan. On his T20I debut, the pacer, kept a tight line and gave away 27 runs for two wickets. 

However, Hardik Pandya kept his calm and took India to a five-wicket win. 

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“The way we started (with the ball), was great. We were about 10-15 runs short. Bowlers did really well to make a match of this. Our tail did step up a bit to add those handy runs. Thought was to take the game deep (and hold back Nawaz’s last over). Idea was to create pressure but Hardik finished well. He (Naseem) is a very young bowler but bowled so well, and showed so much aggression,” Skipper Babar Azam said after the match.