"Shaheen should have been awarded Man of the Match"- Irfan Pathan not happy with Fakhar Zaman winning MOTM in PAK vs BAN 2023 World Cup game

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has opined that Shaheen Afridi deserved the Man of the Match award for his three-wicket haul in the Pakistan vs Bangladesh game. He disagreed with the organizers' decision to present Fakhar Zaman with the award.

The Pakistan vs Bangladesh match happened earlier today (October 31) in the 2023 World Cup league stage at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It was a one-sided game, where Pakistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets.

A lot of Pakistani players impressed the fans with their performances in this game. Afridi and Mohammad Wasim picked up three wickets each with the ball, while openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman registered a half-century each.

Zaman won the Man of the Match award for his 74-ball 81, comprising three fours and seven sixes. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) after the match ended, Irfan Pathan wrote:

"Playing against Bangladesh who is down and out in their confidence, Pakistan needed to play aggressive. They did that very well. Shaheen should have been awarded Man of the match."

It is pertinent to note that this was Zaman's first game in the tournament. He replaced the out-of-form Imam-ul-Haq in the playing XI.

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Shaheen Afridi dismissed 3 main batters of the Bangladesh batting unit

Irfan Pathan seems to have made the above statement because Shaheen Afridi set up this win for Pakistan by dismissing three top-order Bangladeshi batters. The left-arm pacer picked up the wicket of opener Tanzid Hasan in the first over itself.

Next, Afridi sent Najmul Hossain Shanto back to the dressing room in the third over, followed by the in-form Mahmudullah's wicket in the middle overs. Afridi finished with figures of 3/23 in nine overs.

His top-notch performance helped Pakistan bowl Bangladesh out for 204. A lot of fans agreed with Pathan that Afridi should have been the Man of the Match.