It would not be an exaggeration to say that Afghan bowlers are tailormade for limited overs cricket, especially T20 cricket. They have been dominating in various T20 leagues around the world. In the first T20I of the three-match series against Ireland, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan were among wickets which led to advancement in their spots in the list of most wickets by a bowler in T20Is.
Nabi took one wicket in the match but went past English fast bowler Stuart Broad. Nabi is now the fifth-highest wicket-taker in T20Is along with Sri Lankan bowlers Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara.
With three wickets in the match, Rashid went past South African bowler Dale Steyn, former Kiwi bowler Nathan McCullum and Irish bowlers Kevin O’Brien and George Dockrell. Rashid is now 8th on the list and will be looking to catch up with veteran teammate Nabi.
The list is headed by former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi who has taken 98 international wickets. From the current lot of regular international bowlers, Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is closest to Afridi with 80 wickets in T20Is.
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The rain-curtailed first T20I ended with Afghanistan registering a win by 16 runs. Opener Hazratullah Zazai top-scored for Afghanistan with 74 runs from 33 balls after the match was reduced to 18 overs per side. The visitors posted 160 runs on the scoreboard for 7 wickets.
