Pakistan comfortably defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs in the first match of the tri-nation series on Friday morning at Hagley Oval in New Zealand, owing to an excellent bowling performance and a solid half-century from Rizwan.
Right-arm pacer, Mohammad Wasim, and off-spinner, Mohammad Nawaz, claimed three and two wickets, respectively, while Shadab Khan took one wicket, allowing him to reach yet another T20I milestone.
By taking the wicket of Nurul Hasan, the vice-captain became Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in the game’s shortest format. With 85 wickets, he equaled the record of Saeed Ajmal and pacer Umar Gul on the list. Shahid Afridi is still at the top of the list with 97 wickets to his name.
| Bowler | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy Rate |
| Shahid Afridi | 98 | 97 | 24.35 | 6.61 |
| Umar Gul | 60 | 85 | 16.97 | 7.19 |
| Saeed Ajmal | 64 | 85 | 17.83 | 16.8 |
| Shadab Khan | 73 | 85 | 21.55 | 7.12 |
It’s worth noting that the leg-break spinner equaled former captain, Shahid Afridi’s record for most wickets in T20I wins for Pakistan last month during the seven-match T20I series against England at home.
The vice-captain was also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022, where he grabbed eight wickets in five games at an economy rate of 6.05 with a best of 4/8.
