Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi becomes joint 2nd fastest pacer to complete 150 wickets in ODIs

He dismissed England opener Tom Banton in the game to complete 150 wickets in the format.

Shaheen, who is leading Pakistan in the game, won the toss and opted to bowl first against England at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. He got rid of England opener Banton cheaply on 4 to draw the first blood in the game for Pakistan.

Banton was caught by Arafat Minhas on 4 off 5 balls as Afridi struck early to complete 150 wickets in ODIs. He equalled senior India pacer Mohammed Shami’s record to become the second-fastest pacer to 150 ODI wickets, having achieved the feat in his 80th match.

Shami also took 80 matches to reach 150 wickets in his ODI career. Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc holds the record for being the fastest pacer to reach the milestone. He completed 150 wickets in just 77 matches in his ODI career.

Fastest pacers to 150 ODI wickets:

Mitchell Starc – 77 matches

Mohammed Shami – 80 matches

Shaheen Shah Afridi – 80 matches*

Trent Boult – 81 matches

Brett Lee – 82 matches

Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane holds the record for being the fastest bowler overall to 150 wickets in ODIs. He completed the milestone in just 73 matches. Starc is in the second spot on the overall list, followed by ex-Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who completed 150 wickets in 78 matches.

Talking about the game between Pakistan and England, Afridi also accounted for the crucial wickets of Joe Root and Sam Curran after dismissing Banton cheaply on 4. The left-arm pacer dismissed Root on 5 off 7 deliveries before getting rid of Curran on 42 to take a three-wicket haul in the match.

With Root’s wicket, Afridi went past Shoaib Akhtar in the list of bowlers with most wickets in Pakistan in ODIs. Akhtar managed 46 wickets in 32 ODIs in Pakistan during his career, whereas Afridi has 47 wickets to his name in 28 ODIs at home.