Shaheen Afridi claimed 3 wickets in 1st T20I vs South Africa© AFP
Ace seamer Shaheen Afridi etched his name in the history book by becoming Pakistan’s first bowler to take 100 wickets in each format of international cricket. In the first innings of the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban here on Tuesday night, Shaheen struck once in the powerplay, then in the middle phase and once towards the end to complete a three-wicket haul and arrive at the rare feat. With a three-wicket haul, Shaheen completed 100 T20I wickets and became the first Pakistan bowler to have 100 wickets in each format. Apart from T20Is, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer boasts 112 scalps in ODIs and 116 in Test cricket.
With his record-shattering spell, he also the became third Pakistani bowler to achieve 100 T20I wickets, behind Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
Shaheen hit the three-digit figure milestone in his 74th T20I game for Pakistan. He became the second-fastest to take 100 T20I wickets for Pakistan after scorching pacer Haris Rauf, who achieved the feat in 71 T20I matches.
Overall, Shaheen became the youngest to achieve the feat and joined the ranks of New Zealand’s Tim Southee, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.
Coming to the match, Shaheen cleaned up Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a pinpoint yorker. He came back to send in-form David Miller before he could bring up a well-deserved century.
In the last, he trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to claim his 100th T20I wicket and enter the exclusive club. Shaheen ended the first T20I with figures of 3/22 in his four-over spell.
Despite Shaheen’s heroics, Pakistan fell to a narrow 11-run defeat. While chasing a challenging total of 184, skipper Mohammad Rizwan found no support from the other end. His 74 drove Pakistan’s score but it wasn’t enough to take the visitors past the finishing line.
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