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Shaheen Afridi Scales Huge T20I Landmark With First-Over Strike In PAK Vs NZ Series Decider

Shaheen Afridi celebrating a wicket with PAK teammates in 5th T20I (PCB)Shaheen Afridi celebrating a wicket with PAK teammates in 5th T20I (PCB)

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi once again struck early with the new-ball, this time jolting New Zealand’s top-order in the series-deciding fifth T20I match at Lahore. The 24-year-old speedster cleaned up New Zealand opener Tom Blundell in the first over of the innings while defending 179 runs.

Through the course of his latest new-ball blitz, Shaheen Afridi attained a significant new height in his T20 profile, achieving the same before the likes of Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and England’s David Willey.

Shaheen Afridi completes 50 first-over wickets in T20s

Shaheen Afridi castled Tom Blundell to pick up his 50th wicket in the opening over of a T20 innings. He became the first cricketer in the format’s history to scale the landmark figure, eclipsing India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar (43 wickets), England’s David Willey (41 wickets), and national teammate Mohammad Amir (38 wickets).

Having made his T20 debut in February 2018 and his international debut a couple of months later in Karachi, Shaheen Afridi is a renowned fast bowling exponent, especially with the new ball. Back during the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE, the cricketer shot himself to unprecedented fame by shattering India’s top-order with the new-ball. Overall, Afridi’s tally stands at 263 T20 wickets, including 77 in T20 internationals.

As of now, he is currently plying his trade for Pakistan in their limited-overs home assignment against New Zealand. The series is one of the precursors to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in June this year.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s top-order steadied itself after Shaheen Afridi’s new-ball strike, with opener Tim Seifert listing a dashing half-century. Earlier in the game, Pakistan had amassed 178-5 from 20 overs off the back of Babar Azam’s 44-ball 69 and Fakhar Zaman’s fluent 43.