Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi achieved a significant milestone in the first game of the ongoing tri-series, against Afghanistan on Friday, August 29. While the Men in Green registered a resounding win, it also brought personal glory to the left-arm pacer as he went past Jasprit Bumrah in the list of bowlers to take the most wickets in T20 cricket.
The Pakistani pacer picked up two wickets during the game, dismissing Afghan opener Ibrahim Zadran for nine runs and getting Mujeeb Ur Rahman for four runs. These two wickets took Shaheen's career tally to 314 wickets in 225 games, moving him past the Indian spearhead. Among Pakistani players, the left-arm pacer now sits at number nine on the all-time list, and could soon overtake Hasan Ali, as he needs only two more wickets to go past his teammate.
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Interestingly, Shaheen Afridi achieved this significant landmark in fewer games, compared to Bumrah, who took 245 games to take 313 wickets. The Pakistani speedster took 20 games fewer to go past the Indian pacer.
Most Wickets In T20:
Player | Matches | Wickets |
Shaheen Afridi | 225 | 314 |
Jasprit Bumrah | 245 | 313 |
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Pakistan storms to victory in the first T20I against Afghanistan
Speaking about the game, the Salman Ali Agha-led side dominated the game in the batting and bowling departments. First up, they scored 183 runs on the back of a well-made half-century by the skipper. Mohammad Nawaz also chipped in with a useful contribution. Later on, their bowlers bundled the Afghans to 143 runs , to seal a comfortable 39-run win.
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Bowlers Haris Rauf and Sufiyan Muqeem picked up two wickets each and were instrumental in triggering a collapse.