Shadab Khan becomes first Pakistan bowler with 100 T20I wickets
Leg-spinner Shadab Khan has become the first bowler from Pakistan to complete 100 wickets in T20Is. He reached the landmark in the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Notably, Shadab had earlier overtaken legend Shahid Afridi to become Pakistan's leading wicket-taker (T20Is). The former's three-wicket haul helped Pakistan bowl out Afghanistan for 116. Pakistan (182/7) won the match by 66 runs.
Why does this story matter?
Shadab has entered an elite club among bowlers in T20I cricket. He is just the seventh player to have taken 100 wickets in the format after Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Ish Sodhi, Lasith Malinga, and Mustafizur Rahman. During the 2022 T20 World Cup, he broke Afridi's long-standing record of 97 T20I wickets. Shadab led Pakistan in the Afghanistan series.
A look at his T20I career
Shadab raced to 100 T20I wickets in his 87th appearance, the slowest to the milestone among all. He now has 101 wickets in the format at an average of 21.35. The tally includes three four-wicket hauls. The Pakistan leg-spinner has taken most of his T20I wickets at neutral venues (47). He owns 17 and 37 wickets at home and away, respectively.
A phenomenal three-fer by Shadab
As stated, Shadab's three-fer powered Pakistan to victory in the third and final T20I against Afghanistan. It was a dead rubber as Pakistan lost the first two matches in the series. However, Shadab made it memorable by recording figures worth 3/13 as Afghanistan failed to chase 183. Ihsanullah also took three wickets, with the hosts managing just 116 in 18.4 overs.
How did the match 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 toward the end. Afghanistan had a similar start but lacked partnerships in the middle overs. Tail-ender Azmatullah Omarzai was their top scorer (21).
Joint-most PoM awards
Shadab was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round effort. Interestingly, the star all-rounder now owns the joint-most Player-of-the-Match awards in the shortest format (11). He owns this record with Mohammad Rizwan, Afridi, and Mohammad Hafeez.
