Shaheen Afridi claimed 3 wickets in the 1st T20I vs South Africa© AFP
Ace player Shaheen Afridi has etched his name in the history book by becoming Pakistan's first bowler to take 100 wickets in any format of international cricket. In the first innings of the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban here on Tuesday evening, Shaheen struck once in the powerplay, then in the middle stages and once towards the end to complete a three-wicket haul and lead to the rare achievement. With a three-wicket haul, Shaheen completed 100 T20I wickets and became the first Pakistani bowler to have 100 wickets in any format. Apart from T20Is, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer boasts 112 scalps in ODIs and 116 in Test cricket.
His record-breaking spell also saw him become the third Pakistani bowler to take 100 T20I wickets, behind Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
Shaheen reached the three-figure milestone in his 74th T20I match for Pakistan. He became the second fastest to take 100 T20I wickets for Pakistan after scorching pacer Haris Rauf, who achieved the feat in 71 T20I matches.
Overall, Shaheen became the youngest to achieve the feat, joining New Zealand's Tim Southee, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
Coming into the match, Shaheen cleared Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck with a pinpoint yorker. He came back to send David Miller into form before he could bring up a well-deserved century.
Finally, he trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to claim his 100th T20I wicket and enter the exclusive club. Shaheen finished the first T20I with figures of 3/22 in his four-over spell.
Despite Shaheen's heroics, Pakistan fell to a narrow defeat by eleven runs. Chasing a challenging total of 184, skipper Mohammad Rizwan found no support from the other end. His 74 secured Pakistan's score but it was not enough to take the visitors past the finish line.
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