Exhibition match: Army chief hits Afridi for four in a charity game

Match was played in solidarity with those who rendered sacrifices for country

RAWALPINDI:

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Friday hit a boundary to kick off a fund-raising exhibition match played between Army Eleven and Pakistan Eleven on the occasion of the 69th Independence Day.

The match was played at the GHQ stadium in Rawalpindi in solidarity with those who rendered sacrifices for the country. General Raheel Sharif was the chief guest of the event.

After introducing him with the two teams, Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi led the army chief to the pitch where General Raheel smashed a boundary on Afridi’s delivery to a thunderous applause. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Asim Bajwa was the wicketkeeper for the delivery.

After winning the toss, Pakistan Eleven elected to bat and posted 104 runs in the allotted overs. Army Eleven successfully achieved the target on the last ball and won the match by six wickets. Captain Shahid Afridi, who scored the highest 44 runs with 4 sixes and two boundaries, was declared man of the match.

Later, army chief distributed prizes among the players. Officials of Pakistan Army and Pakistan Cricket Board were also present at the event.

The players  included Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Misbahul Haq, Muhmmad Rizwan, Yasir Hameed, Sohail Tanveer and players from the under-19 team.

According to the tweets of the ISPR chief, the proceeds from the Azadi Cup cricket match would be utilised to support the Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Federally Administered Tribal Areas.


Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2015.