Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi has achieved a unique feat with the 4-wicket haul he picked during Pakistan’s thrashing win over the West Indies in the first ODI at Trinidad.
As Pakistan opted to bowl, their bowlers did a comprehensive job to restrict the West Indies batters to the score of 280, after three half-centuries from Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, and Roston Chase, who could not convert them to further big scores.
Pakistan, in turn, did not have the best of starts from their top order, but their innings was stabilized by the skipper, Mohammed Rizwan, alongside veteran Babar Azam, before debutant Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talat, just in his second game, went on to take Pakistan over the line with a 104 run partnership for the 6th wicket.
Shaheen Afridi creates a world record in the 1st ODI
During Pakistan’s bowling innings, pace bowler Shaheen Afridi played a monumental role for Pakistan, as he took 4 wickets in his 8-over spell and was the highest wicket-taker in the match, followed by fellow pacer Naseem Shah.
With these 4 wickets, Shaheen completed 131 wickets in ODI cricket after having made 65 appearances in the ODI format. Shaheen surpassed the former record and is now crowned as the new highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket after having played 65 games for the nation.
The second-highest number of wickets in the list after 65 ODI games is 128 wickets, a record held by Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, whom Shaheen surpassed. Shaheen’s spell included the wickets of Windies opener Brandon King, their skipper Shai Hope, all-rounder Romario Shepherd, and pacer Shamar Joseph.
A brief trivia of the Pakistan vs West Indies match
West Indies, put to bat first by Mohammad Rizwan, had put up a brave 280 through three half-centuries. Though the Pakistan pacers looked well within the wickets’ range, it was the spinners who played a crucial role in choking the flow of runs.
Shaheen Afridi with 4 wickets and Naseem Shah with 3 wickets remained Pakistan’s stars, before their batters Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talat took the credit for the entire win with their crucial hundred-run stand for the 6th wicket, which changed the fate of the match.
“At the start, the spinners were great, but once the dew came in, it got easier,” player-of-the-match Nawaz told the host broadcaster.
“It was tough to play in conditions like this, and the toss had a big part,” Hope said. “Maybe we could’ve got more runs. Credit to our bowlers for fighting at the end. We needed to score more in the middle overs. But all in all, we’re still one step behind.”
Babar Azam’s ODI form to remain under scrutiny for Asia Cup return
Pakistan batter Babar Azam, a modern-day legend in the nation and pillar of their batting order, was marked as playing in the first game, as he auditions for his comeback into the Pakistan T20I side ahead of the Asia Cup.
After Pakistan veteran opener Fakhar Zaman was reported to be injured during the second game of the T20I series against the West Indies, Babar Azam was reported to be in talks to replace him for the upcoming tri-nation series as well as the Asia Cup, citing his experience would be needed in the shortest format.
However, the report also clearly mentioned that Babar’s selection would depend on his performance in the ODI series against the Windies. In this match, Azam scored a crucial 47 and built onto a vital partnership alongside the skipper.