• Home
  • Player Stories
  • When Rashid Khan Left Pakistan Stunned And Became Fastest To 100 T20i Wickets

When Rashid Khan Left Pakistan Stunned And Became Fastest To 100 T20I Wickets

Akshita Patel

Rashid Khan once achieved a mega feat in his T20I career [Source: @gh_spogmai/X.com]Rashid Khan once achieved a mega feat in his T20I career [Source: @gh_spogmai/X.com]

The date of October 30, 2021, will always be remembered as the day Rashid Khan etched his name in history. Afghanistan's star spinner joined the 100 T20I wickets club as the quickest player in history to reach the milestone, leaving behind the great Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.

The milestone came during a high-voltage clash between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup held in the UAE. In the first inning, the Afghans had put up 147 runs on the board at the loss of 6 wickets.

Rashid Khan Humiliated Mohammad Hafeez To Script T20I History

Afghanistan's ace spinner Rashid Khan wasted no time in the second inning to dismiss Pakistan veteran Mohammad Hafeez. That marked his 100th T20I wicket, which came in just his 53rd appearance in the shorter format.

With that, Rashid became the fastest bowler in the history of the T20I format to reach 100 wickets. To put things into perspective, Malinga had taken 76 games to reach the same milestone. 

Other players like Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee have also reached the elite group of 100 wickets, but Rashid is special in that he has done this in a quicker time.

Adding to his fame, Rashid also shares the unique double of quickest to 100 wickets in both ODIs and T20Is. In 2018, he had reached the ODI mark in only 44 matches, reinforcing his supremacy across formats

Despite Rashid’s heroics, the night ended in heartbreak for Afghanistan. Pakistan, powered by captain Babar Azam’s composed 51 and a quick-fire 25* from Asif Ali, chased down the 148-run target with six balls to spare. Rashid took out Hafeez and Babar, but his brilliance couldn't prevent Pakistan from clinching a 5-wicket victory.

While Afghanistan lost the game, Rashid’s personal triumph was a proud moment for his nation. At only 23 years old back then, he had already become a global superstar, inspiring young cricketers everywhere.

Even today, Khan’s supremacy in the T20I format is unmatched. He is the leading wicket-taker with 167 dismissals in 99 innings.