His ability to bludgeon the ball out of the ground isn't in question, and neither is his ability to bowl a few overs of tight legspin and winkle out crucial wickets. Shahid Afridi has always been known for his occasional bursts of explosiveness, but in 2007 he has been immense with both bat and ball. The Faisalabad ODI against South Africa saw him at his irresistible best - his 3 for 37 and 18-ball 32 won him the Man-of-the-Match award - and continued the rich vein of form that has helped him score 277 runs at an average of almost 40, and take 16 wickets at 18.31 apiece from nine one-day internationals this year.
Afridi's career summary shows just how special 2007 has been. Compare it with his performances in the previous year and the contrast is even starker: in 2006 the runs dried up completely - 15 innings fetched a total of 115, with a highest of 23 and nine single-digit scores. His batting average was an embarrassing 7.66, while his 14 wickets came at a rate of more than 40.
This year, though, the story has been completely different. Not only has he found a way to score runs and take wickets, he has done so without compromising on either the strike-rate or the economy-rate - he has scored his runs at nearly 185 per 100 balls, and conceded just four per over with the ball.
Afridi's legspin has always been the more consistent part of his game, and the numbers show just how effective a bowling option he has been. In ODIs in which he has bowled six or more overs, he has gone at more than seven an over only eight times, while 18 times he has restricted the batsmen to a run-rate of less than three.
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