Durban: Ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has made history by becoming the first Pakistani bowler to claim 100 wickets across all formats of international cricket.
During the first innings of the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban on Tuesday night, Shaheen made his mark by taking a wicket in the powerplay, another in the middle overs, and one more towards the end, culminating in a three-wicket haul that secured this remarkable achievement.
With this performance, Shaheen reached the milestone of 100 T20I wickets, making him the first bowler from Pakistan to achieve 100 wickets in every format. In addition to his T20I success, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer has also taken 112 wickets in ODIs and 116 in Test matches.
His record-breaking performance places him as the third Pakistani bowler to reach 100 T20I wickets, following in the footsteps of Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
Shaheen reached this significant milestone in his 74th T20I appearance for Pakistan, making him the second-fastest Pakistani to achieve 100 T20I wickets, just behind the rapid Haris Rauf, who accomplished the feat in 71 matches.
Overall, Shaheen is now the youngest player to reach this landmark, joining the elite company of New Zealand's Tim Southee, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
Shaheen had a remarkable influence on the match, dismissing Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a skillfully executed yorker. He later returned to the bowling attack to take out the in-form David Miller just before he could secure a well-deserved century.
In the closing moments of the game, Shaheen successfully trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps, achieving his 100th T20I wicket and entering an exclusive group of bowlers. He finished the first T20I with impressive bowling figures of 3/22 in his four-over spell.
Despite Shaheen's exceptional performance, Pakistan faced a narrow defeat by 11 runs. While pursuing a challenging target of 184, captain Mohammad Rizwan found it difficult to receive adequate support from his teammates. His innings of 74 was commendable, but ultimately it was not enough to secure victory for Pakistan.
