LAHORE: Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi did something no other Pakistan captain has done before when he became only the third Pakistan captain to take a wicket on the first ball of an ODI.
Shaheen got the record off Alex Carey’s bat on the very first ball of the innings. Carey cut at a wider delivery and eventually paid the price.
This took Shaheen to the list of captains who have done the feat alongside Wasim Akram and Waqar Younas.
Pakistan captains to take wicket on the first delivery of ODI
Wasim Akram – 1993 against Zimbabwe in Karachi
Waqar Younis – 2001 against England in Leeds
Shaheen Shah Afridi – 2026 against Australia in Lahore
Akram was the first to do it, getting Andy Flower out off the very first ball of their ODI against Zimbabwe in 1993. Waqar Younis replicated the feat later when he dismissed England’s Marcus Trescothick in 2001.
Carey’s wicket was followed by a double strike from Shaheen, who dismissed Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Ellis later in the innings and finished with excellent figures of 3/36 from his eight overs.
The left-arm paceman was instrumental in restricting Australia to 231 in their quota of 50 overs. Abrar Ahmed and Arafat Minhas took two wickets each to give him good support.
Australia’s Cameron Green and Josh Inglis scored composed fifties. Inglis got 51 from 74, and Green made 53 from 92 deliveries.
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