Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman had two records registered under his name tonight. Interestingly, he would like to cherish only one of them for the rest of his career and life. During the third and final ODI against Pakistan in Colombo, Pakistan did win the match by 59 runs, but it was Rahman’s exploits with the bat which remained the talking point of the cricketing fraternity by the time the match ended.
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In at No. 9 in the order with the scorecard reading 97/7, the right-arm spinner infused quite some life in the Afghan run-chase which looked like falling apart like a deck of cards. En route a target of 269 runs, Mujeeb walked in to bat in the 33rd over and smashed three fours and five sixes to reach his half-century in a mere 26 deliveries. Much to everyone’s surprise, in no time he had become the fastest Afghan batter to score an ODI fifty.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Hits Fastest ODI Fifty For Afghanistan
Unbelievably, the 22-year-old had never scored a fifty in professional cricket before. By the time he had got out in the 46th over, he had smashed five fours and as many sixes to end his scintillating innings amassing 64 (37) at a strike rate of 172.97.
He, thus, broke Rashid Khan‘s record for scoring the fastest ODI fifty for Afghanistan. Readers must note that Rashid had smashed a 27-ball half-century against Ireland in Abu Dhabi in January 2021.
During his innings, Mujeeb stitched a couple of crucial partnerships – first alongside Shahidullah (37) worth 57 runs for the eighth wicket, and then with Fareed Ahmed (17) for the ninth wicket which cost Pakistan another 45 runs. While the match seemed like done and dusted by the time he got out, he did manage to scare the crap out of Pakistani players and fans during his stay at the crease.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Becomes First Afghan Batter To Get Out Hit Wicket In International Cricket
Three overs later, Mujeeb also registered an infamous record by his name – that of becoming the first Afghanistan batter to get out hit wicket in international cricket.
On the last delivery of the 46th over, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a full delivery on the leg-stump. In an attempt to flick the ball towards the fine leg region, Mujeeb stamped his foot on the stumps to bring about a dramatic end to his innings.
Ultimately, Pakistan ended Afghanistan’s innings at the score of 209 (48.4 overs) to clean sweep the three-match series 3-0, and moved to the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI team rankings.
