"Another terrific spell from him!" - Fans react to Fazalhaq Farooqi's 3/33 in AFG vs IND 2024 T20 World Cup match
Fazalhaq Farooqi starred with the ball for Afghanistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup match against India at Barbados on Thursday, June 20. The left-arm pacer provided the first breakthrough for Afghanistan by dismissing India captain Rohit Sharma early. He also took the prized scalp of Suryakumar Yadav before dismissing Ravindra Jadeja to finish with excellent figures of 3/33 in his four overs.
Farooqi is enjoying a dream run in the mega ICC event, having scalped 15 wickets in five matches so far. The 23-year-old had also scalped 4/17 against New Zealand in the group-stage match, where Afghanistan emerged victorious by 84 runs.
The speedster needs just two wickets to break Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga’s record for most wickets in any T20 World Cup edition. The Lankan spinner had scalped 16 wickets in 2021.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) lauded Fazalhaq Farooqi for his exploits with the ball against the Men in Blue. One user wrote:
"Fazalhaq Farooqi you beauty!!!! What a spell!!"
Another user wrote:
"Not much help today even with the new ball. Just some very faint movement and he was bowling against the direction of the wind too to the right-handers. And yet Farooqi's delivered. Another terrific spell from him!"
One user pointed how Farooqi has been an asset for Afghanistan besides world-class spinners. He wrote:
"Farooqi is as important for Afghanistan as Noor/Nabi/Rashid."
Here are a few more reactions:
Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi help Afghanistan restrict India to 181/8 in 2024 T20 World Cup clash
A clinical bowling display from Fazalhaq Farooqi and skipper Rashid Khan helped Afghanistan restrict India below 200 in the 2024 T20 World Cup Super-Eight match. Apart from Farooqi, Rashid finished with figures of 3/26, while Naveen-ul-Haq bagged one wicket.
Opting to bat, Rohit Sharma and Co. posted 181/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav starred with the bat, scoring 53 runs off 28 balls, hitting three sixes and five boundaries. Hardik Pandya also smashed 32 off 24 deliveries with the help of two sixes and three boundaries. The duo put on a 60-run partnership to recover the Men in Blue from 90/4. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant also chipped in with run-a-ball 24 and 20 (11), respectively.
The Men in Blue will look to continue their winning streak in the 2024 T20 World Cup after three victories in group-stage fixtures. Their last game against Canada was washed out due to rain.
Afghanistan also won three games in the group stage but lost to co-hosts West Indies by 104 runs in their last outing. They are yet to beat India in T20Is, having lost seven out of eight games. One match didn’t yield a result.
Follow the AFG vs IND 2024 T20 World Cup match live score and updates here.