Rashid Khan reached a landmark in unusual fashion on Monday, claiming his 700th Twenty20 wicket when a United Arab Emirates batter was dismissed hit wicket during Afghanistan’s five-wicket victory at the Men’s T20 World Cup.
The milestone came in the 15th over of the UAE innings at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, when Muhammad Arfan attempted a reverse sweep and inadvertently struck his own stumps with his bat. It was the first time in Rashid’s T20 career that he had taken a wicket in that manner.
The leg-spinner, who finished with figures of 1 for 24 from four overs, has now taken 191 wickets in T20 internationals. Combined with 509 wickets in domestic T20 competitions, the 27-year-old became the first player to reach 700 wickets in the format.
It was a rare dismissal for a bowler who has delivered 11,794 balls in T20 cricket without previously claiming a hit-wicket.
Afghanistan restricted UAE to 160 for 9 in 20 overs, with Azmatullah Omarzai producing the standout performance of 4 for 15. Sohaib Khan led the UAE scoring with 68 from 48 balls, striking six fours and four sixes, while Alishan Sharafu added 40 from 31 deliveries.
In reply, Afghanistan overcame the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck. Ibrahim Zadran anchored the chase with 53 from 41 balls, before Omarzai followed his bowling display with an unbeaten 40 from 21 balls to guide the team to 162 for 5 with four balls remaining.
The victory kept Afghanistan’s slim hopes of advancing from Group D alive. They must defeat New Zealand in their final match and improve their net run rate to surpass both New Zealand and the UAE.
UAE, who also have two points, face South Africa in their last group match and similarly need a win and a superior net run rate to progress.
