Rashid Khan bowls 100 successive balls without conceding boundary (T20Is)
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan attained a massive feat in the 3rd and final T20I against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He bowled his 100th successive ball without conceding a boundary in T20I cricket. The hosts lost the match by 66 runs, with Rashid bagging figures worth 1/31. His streak got snapped as he conceded two sixes in the match. Here are the stats.
Why does this story matter?
Rashid is one of the most prolific wicket-takers in T20 cricket. His leg breaks and googlies are a class apart. The 24-year-old has dominance like no other in both franchise cricket and the international arena. Rashid, who has scripted several records so far, could end up as the greatest ever to have graced the game. He deserves adulation for consistently choking the batters.
Third-most wickets in T20I cricket
Rashid is the third-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. He has taken 129 wickets in 80 T20Is at an incredible average of 14.58 so far. The tally includes two five-wicket hauls (BBI: 5/3). In June 2018, he became the fastest bowler, in terms of time taken, to take 50 wickets in T20I cricket. He reached the milestone in two years and 220 days against Bangladesh.
Over 500 wickets in T20s
Earlier this year, Rashid became just the second bowler to touch the 500-wicket mark in T20 cricket. Rashid, who has 528 wickets from 391 matches at 18.14, is only behind West Indies legend Dwayne Bravo (615). Bravo's compatriot Sunil Narine is Rashid's closest rival at the moment, with 478 T20 wickets. Rashid will likely break Bravo's record of most T20 wickets.
Best economy rate in the shortest format
Among bowlers with at least 80 T20I wickets, Rashid's economy rate of 6.18 is the best (full-member team players). The likes of Saeed Ajmal (6.36), Shahid Afridi (6.63), Wanindu Hasaranga (6.80), and Shakib Al Hasan (6.81) follow Rashid on this tally.
First Afghanistan captain to claim series win against Pakistan
Although Afghanistan lost the final T20I, they beat Pakistan 2-1 in the series. Rashid, who led the Afghans, became the first Afghanistan captain to claim a series win against Pakistan. Prior to the series, Afghanistan had never won any international game versus Pakistan. The two sides met in four ODIs and three T20Is before, and the Men in Green emerged winners every single time.
How did the 3rd T20I pan out?
Pakistan were off to a patchy start, having scored just 28/2 in 4.1 overs. Although wickets continued to tumble, Saim Ayub held one end. While he cracked a valuable 49, Iftikhar Ahmed (31) and Shadab (28) contributed eventually (182/7). Afghanistan had a similar start but lacked partnerships in the middle overs. Tail-ender Azmatullah Omarzai was their top scorer (21) as they managed 116/10.
