Abu Dhabi: Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan etched his name in history by becoming the first-ever bowler from his country to claim 200 ODI wickets.
Rashid reached the milestone during the opening ODI against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi, where he delivered a match-winning spell of 3 for 38 in 10 overs, dismissing Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, and Nurul Hasan.
In 115 ODIs, Rashid has now bagged 202 wickets in 107 innings at an impressive average of 20.28 and an economy rate of 4.23. His best figures remain 7/18, and his tally includes six four-wicket hauls and five five-wicket hauls. Behind him on Afghanistan’s all-time list are Mohammad Nabi (176 wickets in 174 matches) and Dawlat Zadran (115 wickets in 82 matches).
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat. Despite a shaky start at 53/3, a solid 101-run partnership between Towhid Hridoy (56 off 85) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (60) steadied their innings. However, Rashid’s strikes and a run-out of Hridoy derailed Bangladesh, who were eventually bowled out for 221 runs with seven balls remaining.
Apart from Rashid, Azmatullah Omarzai (3/40), Allah Ghazanfar (2/55), and Nangeyalia Kharote (1/32) contributed to Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling display.
Chasing 222, Afghanistan made a confident start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50 off 76) and Ibrahim Zadran (23 off 25) added 52 runs for the opening stand. Rahmat Shah (50 off 70) then joined Gurbaz to build a crucial 78-run partnership for the third wicket.
Later, Azmatullah Omarzai’s quickfire 40 off 44 balls and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi’s unbeaten 33 guided Afghanistan home with five wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare. Mohammad Nabi (11)* finished alongside Shahidi to seal the win.
Omarzai’s all-round brilliance earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award as Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Bangladesh had earlier clinched the T20I series 3-0.
