NEW DELHI: Star pacer Shaheen Afridi carved his name into cricketing history by becoming the first Pakistan bowler to achieve the milestone of 100 wickets in each format of international cricket.
The historic feat came during the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban on Tuesday. Shaheen delivered a standout performance, striking once in the powerplay, once in the middle overs, and once at the death to complete a three-wicket haul and reach this rare milestone.
With his impressive 3/22 spell, the 24-year-old left-arm pacer notched up his 100th T20I wicket, adding to his 112 scalps in ODIs and 116 in Test cricket. Shaheen also became the third Pakistani bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets, joining Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
Notably, Shaheen achieved this landmark in his 74th T20I, making him the second-fastest Pakistani to the milestone after Haris Rauf, who accomplished it in 71 matches.
At the same time, Shaheen became the youngest bowler in the world to achieve 100 wickets across all formats, joining the elite club of New Zealand's Tim Southee, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
During the match, Shaheen displayed his brilliance by cleaning up Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a searing yorker. He later dismissed the dangerous David Miller before he could reach a well-deserved century and trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to secure his 100th T20I wicket.
Despite Shaheen’s record-breaking performance, Pakistan fell short in their chase of a challenging 184-run target, losing by 11 runs. Skipper Mohammad Rizwan's valiant 74 kept Pakistan in the hunt, but the lack of support from the other end meant the visitors couldn’t cross the finish line.
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