ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi achieved a major milestone in the World Test Championship (WTC) during the first Test against Bangladesh.
The left-arm pacer added a new feather in the cap of his illustrious career when he dismissed opener Mahmudullah Joye during the first innings of Bangladesh and reached the century mark by claiming 3 WTC wickets. Afridi has taken 100 WTC wickets in a mere 28 matches of his career.
Among the Pakistani bowlers, Nauman Ali is on second spot after capturing 89 wickets in just 20 games.
As far as the global ranking is concerned, Australian Nathan Lyon holds the record for most wicket-takers in WTC by earning 224 wickets in 55 WTC games. On third position are Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, with 222 wickets in 54 and 221 wickets in 52 matches, respectively.
Debut heroes: Azan, Abdullah make history with record partnership
Meanwhile, the rising cricket talents from Pakistan, Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal made history during their debut in Tests with a century-plus partnership against Bangladesh.
In the third day of the game, Azan made 103 runs, while Abdullah managed to score 60 runs, making a combined score of 104 runs for the second wicket. They helped Pakistan score 386 runs in their first inning, which was just 27 runs behind that of Bangladesh, who made 413 runs.
Some other notable contributors to the Pakistani team include Mohammad Rizwan (59), Salman Ali Agha (58), and Imam-ul-Haq (45). On the contrary, their captain Shan Masood (9) and vice-captain Saud Shakeel (0) struggled yet again.
As per the reports, Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal have become the only third pair from Pakistan to have made a century partnership in their debut in Tests. Before them, Khalid Ibadulla and Abdul Qadir made a record score of 249 runs against Australia in Karachi in 1964, whereas in 2003, Mohammad Hafeez and Yasir Hameed made 134 runs against Bangladesh in Karachi.
In international cricket, they have become the only 14th pair to make such a partnership debut-wise.
