Afghanistan's national team skipper Rashid Khan created history on Monday night when he bagged his 500th T20 wicket during MI Cape Town's match against Pretoria Capital during the ongoing SA20 in Cape Town. The occasion was subdued as his team lost the match by 52 runs, but this does not take away his achievement, becoming just the second player in world cricket to complete this feat, after Dwayne Bravo.
The 24-year-old is also the skipper of the South African city's franchise, which is owned by five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI)
During the match, taking place at the scenic Newlands Stadium, Rashid Khan took three wickets, including that of opener Kusal Mendis, breaking his 88-run partnership with eventual Player of the Match Will Jacks (62 runs off 27 balls). But it was actually the third wicket of his spell that got him to the milestone when he dismissed Cylde Fortuin for just 11 runs off 14 balls.
Most wickets in T20 format (full list):
Dwayne Bravo - 614 (526 innings)
Rashid Khan - 500 (368 innings)
Sunil Narine - 474 (427 innings)
Imran Tahir - 466 (358 innings)
Shakib Al Hasan - 436 (382 innings)
Rashid's incredible spell saw him get the three wickets while conceding just 16 runs. Between the wickets of Mendis and Fortuin, the MI Cape town skipper also got Rilee Rossouw.
But his contribution was not enough as the other bowlers, especially Kagiso Rabada (49 runs in three overs), were really expensive and allowed the Capitals to put on an impressive score of 182 on the board.
Rashid has been one of the best T20 bowlers in the world over the last five years, having dominated international cricket for Afghanistan, as well as domestic leagues around the world. In the IPL, he has turned out for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Gujarat Titans (GT). He also won the coveted prize for the latter in 2022.
