Shaheen Afridi carves his name into cricketing history

Pakistan’s star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi scripted history by becoming the first bowler from Pakistan and the fourth overall to take take 100 wickets in each format of the game.

Shaheen Afridi achieved the feat with his figure of 3-22 in a losing cause in the first T20I of the three-match series against South Africa. The left-arm pacer trapped Nqabayomzi Peter in front of the stumps to secure his 100th scalp in T20Is.

The left-arm pacer, who was just three wickets shy from the century of T20I wickets, returned brilliant bowling figures of 3/22 in the aforementioned fixture and became only the third Pakistani bowler to pick hundred wickets in the shortest format, only behind Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.

Shaheen Afridi showed off his skill during the game by using a scorching yorker to sweep up Rassie van der Dussen for a golden duck. He also
removed the dangerous David Miller before the left-handed batter could score a well-earned century.

🚨 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ T20I wickets for @iShaheenAfridi 🚨

He becomes only the 4️⃣th bowler to take 💯 wickets in all three formats of the game 🤩#SAvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/ssF7WGrruD

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 10, 2024

Pakistan lost by 11 runs in their pursuit of a difficult 184-run target, despite Shaheen Afridi’s record-breaking effort and a heroic 74 by captain Muhammad Rizwan.

The 24-year-old joined the group of Tim Southee of New Zealand, Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, and Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka as the youngest bowler in history to reach 100 wickets in all formats.

He has taken 116 wickets in Test matches and 112 in ODIs in addition to his T20I total. Interestingly, Shaheen Afridi reached this milestone in his 74th Twenty20 International, making him the second-fastest Pakistani to reach it, behind Haris Rauf, who did it in 71 games.