Rashid makes T20I history in Afghanistan’s epic comeback

Rashid Khan became the first-ever bowler to notch 200 T20I wickets in a blockbuster turnaround for Afghanistan during their T20I series against Afghanistan. 

The Afghan spinner achieved the feat in his 120th appearance in the format. Second to him in the tally is England’s Adil Rashid, who has 171 wickets from 153 matches.

Rashid’s milestone came after a stunning batting effort from Afghanistan. Having been put into bat first, Afghanistan were left teetering at 5/4 in the powerplay. A fifth wicket followed in the ninth over.

Azmatullah Omarzai (116) and Ijaz Ahmadzai (52) then revived the Afghan innings. The duo put together 142 runs, which is the highest partnership for the sixth wicket or lower in T20Is.

Omarzai went on to score his maiden T20I hundred, becoming the fourth batter to score a hundred for Afghanistan in the shortest format.

His knock included as many as 12 sixes and an additional five boundaries.

Afghanistan ended up with 221/7 in their quota of 20 overs. This marked the first instance of a team scoring a 200-plus total in T20Is after losing their first four wickets for less than 20 runs. 

It is also Afghanistan’s third-highest total in the format. Chasing a big ask, Zimbabwe were put under the pump from early on in the innings.

However, even after losing five wickets halfway through the innings, with only 85 runs on the board, Zimbabwe continued their push in the final 10 overs. 

Skipper Sikandar Raza led their efforts with his second T20I century, lacing his innings with five fours and nine maximums.

However, Afghanistan eventually managed to cross the line, taking an unassailable lead in the three-match series.

Afghanistan v Zimbabwe T20I Series

27 October: First T20I (Afghanistan win by 37 runs) 

29 October: Second T20I (Afghanistan win by 19 runs)

1 November: Third T20I