Shaheen Shah Afridi left a major impression in the first ODI against the West Indies, not only with his match -winning magic, but also in the record book. In the initial game of the three-Match series, his 4/51 helped Pakistan to exclude the hosts for 280, and in this process, he proceeded to claim Mohammed Shami to claim the best strike rate in the men’s area (minimum 100 wickets) among the bowlers of the entire member nations. Shaheen’s strike rate is now at 25.4, making Shami’s 25.8 better according to Wisden.
The number of Shaheen underlines his influence. His 131 wickets are the highest after their first 65 Odis by any bowler, he is the only an average of two wickets per match at this stage. The last best, Mitchell Starc of Australia and Rashid Khan of Afghanistan were jointly held with 129 wickets.
With its current tally, Shaheen is ready to maintain records even after 66 matches. To take a 67-Match mark, they will need to carry forward the 133-wicket Stark record.
Opposing the field after winning the toss, with the support of Nasim Shah (3/55), Pakistan hit quickly through Shaheen. For the West Indies, Evin Lewis (60), Shai Hope (55), and Roston Chase (53) all registered in the fifties, but the domestic side could not build a commanding clan.
In response, there were nervous moments of Pakistan’s chase. Babar Azam made 47 and Mohammad Rizwan 53, but at 180/5, the game was still opened. When Hasan Nawaz scored 63 off 54 balls and Hussain Talat scored 41 off 37 balls and joined the forces to guide the visitors’ house with five wickets and seven balls. Both shared an unbeaten 104 -run partnership. (AI)
