Shaheen Afridi Creates History, Becomes First Bowler In The World To...

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi was on fire in the fifth T20I against New Zealand and picked four wickets for 30 runs to help Pakistan defend 178 and win the game by nine runs. The magnificent spell helped Pakistan draw the series 2-2. The hosts won the second T20I and took a 1-0 lead after the first game was washed out due to rain. However, New Zealand bounced back strong and won the third and fourth T20I to take a lead.

Pakistan were under pressure in the fifth T20I, however, Afridi rose up to the occasion and helped the team escape a series defeat against a second-string New Zealand team. Afridi got the wickets of Tom Blundell, James Neesham, Zakary Foulkes, and Ish Sodhi.

Meanwhile, Afridi created history when he removed Tom Blundell in the first over of the New Zealand chase. Afridi thus became the first bowler in the world to take 50 wickets in the first over in T20 cricket. India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar is second on the list with 43 wickets in first over, followed by David Willey (41), Mohammad Amir (38) and Sohail Tanvir (35). Meanwhile, Afridi was also declared the Man of the Match as well as Man of the Series.

Afridi was removed as Pakistan T20I captain ahead of the series, with Babar Azam making a return as leader of the white-ball setup. Earlier, Pakistan posted a score of 178-5, courtesy of Babar Azam's 69 and Fakhar Zaman's 63. Pakistan will next play a three-match T20I series against Ireland, followed by a four match series against England before taking part in the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan are placed in Group A of the T20 World Cup along with India, USA, Ireland, and Canada. The top two teams from each group will qualify for Super 8s. The team will take on India on June 9 in New York.

Shaheen Afridi said that he tries to keep balls in line of the stumps and loves bowling yorkers.

"Whatever is happening, it's good for the team. I try to strike with the ball, also try to contribute with the bat and in the field. The ball was keeping a bit low and so we focused on bowling wicket-to-wicket and also on variations and it worked. When the ball is reversing, I try to mix things up but the yorker is the best ball in any format," said Afridi after the match winning performance.