Rashid Khan added yet another sparkling page to his career on Monday evening in Sharjah as he became the top wicket-taker in Men’s T20Is with Afghanistan’s 38-run victory over the UAE.
Afghan captain delivered yet another baller of a performance, taking 3/11 from four overs and triggering a middle-order collapse to seal the game for his team. With those scalps, Rashid surpassed New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee to become the all-time leader in the format with 165 wickets.
| Player | Team | Wickets | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 165 | 13.75 | 6.07 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 164 | 22.38 | 8.00 |
| Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 150 | 22.52 | 7.95 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 149 | 20.91 | 6.81 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 142 | 20.84 | 7.30 |
Sharafuddin Ashraf set the tone with the first major breakthrough, sending danger-man Muhammad Waseem packing (67 off 37), followed by Rashid taking out Asif Khan for a mere 1 after having dismissed Ethan D’Souza (12) previously. He then wrapped the record in style, dispatching Dhruv Parashar (1) with the penultimate ball of his spell, well caught by substitute fielder Mohammad Ishaq.
Afghanistan’s batting foundation was laid out by an 84-run partnership between Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal. Late fireworks from Karim Janat and ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024, Azmatullah Omarzai, propelled the visitors to 188, 49 runs of which were achieved in three overs at the death.
Even with a belligerent unbeaten 52 of just 35 balls from Rahul Chopra, UAE never managed to find the partnerships required to complete the target, having been thwarted by Rashid’s genius and tight Afghan bowling.