Rashid Khan Breaks Shahid Afridi's Record

As usual Rashid Khan managed to leave his mark with the ball, helping Afghanistan see off Ireland in the second T20I.

The second T20I between Afghanistan and Ireland belonged entirely to the batsmen. Only one Ireland bowler managing to concede less than 12 runs per over tells the story. Batting first, Afghanistan piled up a record total of 278 for 3 – the highest ever in T20Is. The previous highest total in T20Is was 263 for 3 scored by Australia against Sri Lanka in 2016. Hazratullah Zazai was the star of the show, slamming 162 not out off just 62 deliveries.

Zazai’s knock contained 11 fours and a staggering 16 sixes. The 16 sixes are now the most hit by a batsman in T20Is. He went past Aaron Finch’s tally of 14 hits over the boundary. Zazai had shared an opening stand of 236 runs with Usman Ghani and created the record of highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is.

But amidst all this, Rashid Khan made his mark once again. The leg-spinner, currently the number one in T20Is, ended the game with superb figures of 4 for 25. He ran through Ireland’s middle-order to derail their chase. Ireland had managed to revive their hopes after their skipper Paul Stirling and Kevin O Brien shared 126 runs for the first wicket. However, they lost their next five wickets for just 24 runs which all but sealed their fate. They eventually finished on 194 for 6, thus losing the game by 84 runs. As a result of the win, Afghanistan have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Rashid, meanwhile, ended up creating a major milestone with his four-wicket haul.  The Afghanistan spin spearhead now holds the record of most wickets against the same team in T20Is.  Rashid broke former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s record to achieve the feat.  Rashid has now taken 24 wickets against Ireland in just nine matches at an average of 7.58.

Afridi, on the other hand, had accounted for 21 wickets against New Zealand in 15 games. Rashid and Afridi are followed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (19 wickets against Windies) and Saeed Ajmal (19 against Australia).