Have you seen Shaheen? Lean, mean, they say he bleeds green.
He’s the master of reverse swing when the red ball is old but the white ball? Well, it’s ludicrous wizardry when he takes the new one in hand, all late swing and shaping that shouldn’t be possible and yet seems inevitable when Shaheen opens the bowling.
You can know it’s coming in the same way you know a tidal wave is about to hit when you’re standing on the beach with no trees handy to climb; what good does that knowledge do?
In the second ODI of the series it was Aaron Finch with the unenviable task of surviving the opening Afridi blitz.
In an echo of his dismissal by Shaheen in the T20 World Cup clash between the two sides, Finch was smashed on the pads by a full ball that swung in perilously late.
Now it was Travis Head facing the first over from Shaheen; survival the best that could be hoped for.
Head knew it was coming, the whole world knows what to expect when Shaheen bowls his first over.
He has taken a wicket in the first over of a white ball match 25 times in 73 innings; once in ever three white ball games he plays in, Shaheen takes a wicket in the first over.
Head was aware of the danger, as is every Australian who faces the left-arm king of swing.
And so was the crowd, having their final big day out before the start of Ramadan, and the chant of his surname bubbled across the steamy cauldron that was Gaddafi Stadium on a roasting, scorching afternoon as he charged in to bowl the first delivery.
It was another full toss, of the same ilk that had sent Finch packing two days earlier, the last minute snap of the his wrists and fingers producing late movement too quick for Head’s defences and the zing bails erupted a millisecond before the fans did the same.
A kiss of the hands which then pointed to the sky in celebration confirmed this as a box office event.
If Shaheen is the rockstar who fronts the band, then Haris Rauf is the lead guitarist who struts centre stage for his own breathtaking solo.
His third ball was full and straight, cannoning into Finch’s pads as he played across the line; the Australian captain’s lean run continuing with another duck that won’t quell questions about his wavering form.
When Rauf enticed Marnus Labuschagne to flash outside off stump, the edge snaffled by Iftikhar Ahmed at first slip, Australia were 3 for 6 and reeling; their top order had shown all the durability of a wet paper towel in the face of Afridi and Rauf’s powerplay menace.
Australia’s middle order offered resistance, with Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey and Cameron Green dragging their side back to the fight.
Coming back from such a miserable start was always going to be a challenge, especially when leading edges were the new black; both Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green miscued their shots and joined the conga line of beaten batters returning to the Australian dressing room.
But this was a night when Pakistan played their greatest hits and, as they often do, Babar Azam’s men allowed the game to meander just enough to let Australia back in ,as other leading edges fell frustratingly short of fielders who perhaps could have got to the ball before it landed safely.
The barrage by Pakistan’s all-round bowling attack was never too far away though, with Wasim Mohammed keeping the procession to and from the Australian dressing room moving with three wickets to match Rauf.
A blistering cameo from Sean Abbott ensured the total was vaguely respectable, his 49 off 44 deliveries at least gave Australia something to defend.
Oh wait, did we mention Pakistan’s greatest hits? That, of course, must include a comical fielding blunder, and when a Zahid Mahmood delivery lobbed up off the toe of Abbot’s bat and plopped safely in between Imam-ul-Haq, Afridi and Mohammed Rizwan as they converged, the trio gave each other the kind of sheepish looks Pakistan fans know only too well.
But Haris Rauf, was back delivering another searing spell, this time with the ball reversing, and he sent down a short ball that was pulled to short fine leg by Abbott, as the afternoon heat gave way to the nighttime Lahore breeze.
With Australia all out in the 42nd over a Pakistan win was beckoning and the early wicket of Fakhar Zaman, another to catch a leading edge off Nathan Ellis’ canny off-cutter, did little to take the shine off a stunning display.
For what could cap off such a celebratory day than another Babar century, a further display of the captain’s superlative skills that slip seamlessly from format to format?
Throw in another fine Imam innings, allow him to score the winning runs by lofting Labuschagne down the ground for four, and all Pakistan’s best numbers had been played.
After losing the Test series and being trounced in the opening ODI, Pakistan had followed a record winning run chase in the second with a completely dominant performance to wrap up their first ODI series against Australia since 2002.
From Shaheen’s opening showstopper, through Babar’s supremacy and right until Imam’s final note, it was a rendition of all the favourites to send Pakistan fans into the night, humming their favourite victory song.
