Dublin [Ireland], May 14 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi presented special jerseys to skipper Babar Azam for becoming the most successful T20I captain with 45 victories, and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for taking 300 wickets in the international cricket.
The duo reached the milestone in their second T20I against Ireland in Dublin here on Sunday which Pakistan won by 7 wickets.
With the victory, the 29-year-old Babar became the most successful T20I captain with 45 victories, surpassing Uganda’s Brian Masaba. On the other hand, Shaheen became the fifth youngest to reach the milestone of 300 wickets, following Waqar Younis (22 years and 117 days), Saqlain Mushtaq (22 years and 164 days), Rashid Khan (23 years and 265 days), and Kagiso Rabada (23 years and 285 days).
Pakistan defeated Ireland by 7 wickets at Dublin’s Clontarf Cricket Club Ground to tie the three-match T20I series. Mohammad Rizwan was awarded the Player of the Match for his marvellous unbeaten knock of 75 runs from 46 balls which was laced with six boundaries and four maximums.
Babar’s team successfully chased down Ireland’s competitive total of 193/7 with more than three overs to spare, thanks to a 140-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan (75*) and Fakhar Zaman (78), giving Pakistan’s standout skipper a record-breaking 45th T20I triumph.
Babar is five victories ahead of second-placed Aaron Finch (40) and has eclipsed Uganda’s skipper Brian Masaba (44) for the most wins by a captain in men’s T20Is. Eoin Morgan, England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain, is third (42 victories), with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma next in line at 41 wins each. Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan is also tied with Morgan for 42 victories as captain in the shortest format of cricket.
During the game, Shaheen achieved a historic feat by completing 300 wickets in T20 international cricket. He dismissed Ireland captain Paul Stirling to reach the 300-wicket landmark. Overall, he finished the game with figures of 3/40 in his four-over spell.
While chasing 194, Babar failed to worry the scorers against Ireland, edging a Graham Hume ball to keeper Lorcan Tucker in the second over, Rizwan and Fakhar helped Pakistan even the series.
Fakhar demonstrated his power-hitting abilities by smashing six sixes, while a steadier Rizwan handled the support position admirably as the pair put up 140 in rapid succession to take the game away from Ireland.
While Fakhar was dismissed in the 15th over to provide the hosts with a glimmer of hope, Azam Khan joined the party to hit an unbeaten 30 from just 10 deliveries to guide Pakistan home. With a seven-wicket win, Pakistan levelled the series 1-1.
The series will be decided in the third and final game of the three-match series in Dublin on Tuesday. (ANI)
