DURBAN: Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi made history during the first T20I of the three-game series against South Africa at Kingsmead on Tuesday.
Shaheen returned with bowling figures of 3-22 to reach the coveted 100-wicket mark in T20I cricket, becoming the third bowler from Pakistan to reach the landmark after Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf.
However, he also became the first-ever player from Pakistan and the fourth overall to take 100 wickets in all three formats of the game.
Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga was the first bowler to achieve this historic milestone back in 2019, followed by New Zealand’s Tim Southee and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in 2021.
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Shaheen is also the youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in all three formats, reaching the milestone at the age of 24. Prior to him, Southee was the youngest, who achieved the feat aged 32.
It’s worth noting that Shaheen’s brilliance with the ball was not enough as Pakistan lost the first T20I by a narrow 11-run margin.
The action will now shift to Centurion for the second T20I, which is scheduled for December 13. The series will culminate with the final T20I in Johannesburg on December 14.
After wrapping up the T20I series, Pakistan and South Africa will play a three-match ODI series.
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The opening ODI will take place on December 17 in Paarl, while the second and third ODIs will be played in Cape Town and Johannesburg on December 19 and 22 respectively.
Pakistan and South Africa will then engage in a two-match Test series, which will kick off in Centurion on December 26, meanwhile, the second Test will start from January 3 in Cape Town.
However, Shaheen Afridi would not be in action during the Test series as the selectors opted to rest him from red-ball cricket to manage his workload ahead of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
READ: Haris Rauf named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for November 2024