Rashid Khan wrote another world record to his name as he took his 200th T20I wicket in the first T20I between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on Thursday (October 29), as the Asian team registered a memorable 19-run victory at the Sharjah Cricket Ground to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Rashid etched his name in history by taking Tadiwanashe Marumani (2 of 5) during Zimbabwe’s chase of 222. The legendary leg-spinner trapped the wicketkeeper in front of the stumps in what turned out to be his only wicket of the day during his spell of 1-29 in four overs. He was the most economical bowler of the day for his team in a high-scoring clash. Earlier, he also scored four sixes in the final over in what proved to be the difference in the end as the Ibrahim Zadran-led side posted a total of 221 on the board after being 5-4 and 38-5 at one stage.
Rashid Khan Creates History
As a result, Rashid has become the first player in T20I history from either a Test-playing or associate member nation to take 200 T20I wickets. No other player has more than 171 wickets in the shortest format of the game. England spinner Adil Rashid is second on the list among male players.
Most T20I Wickets
| Player | Wickets | Matches |
| Rashid Khan | 200 | 120 |
| Adil Rashid | 171 | 153 |
| Ehsan Khan | 165 | 119 |
| Ish Sodhi | 165 | 142 |
| Tim Southee | 164 | 126 |
Rashid is the first player of either gender to achieve the feat, as no women’s cricketer has managed the feat either. Indian cricket legend Deepti Sharma is close to becoming the first player to complete the 200-wicket mark in Women’s T20I, as she has 191 wickets to her name as things stand.
Meanwwhile, Rashid also has 245 ODI wickets to his name, which makes him the first player to complete the double of 200 wickets in both white-ball formats.
Lasith Malinga was the first player to reach the mark of 100 T20I wickets during a T20I between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 2019. However, Rashid was also the quickest to complete the 100-wicket milestone (53 matches).