Shaheen Afridi surpasses Akhtar, becomes fastest Pak pacer to reach ODI milestone

Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi reached a major milestone in ODI cricket on Sunday during the fourth match of the tri-series against England at Gaddafi Stadium.

Bowling first, Shaheen dismissed England opener Tom Banton in the first over to claim his 150th wicket in the 50-over format. The 26-year-old became the second-fastest Pakistani bowler overall and the fastest Pakistani fast bowler to reach the landmark.

Shaheen achieved the feat in his 80th ODI, two matches more than former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who holds the record for the fastest Pakistani bowler to take 150 wickets, having reached the milestone in 78 matches. However, Shaheen went past Pakistan pace greats Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, who both took 91 matches to claim 150 ODI wickets, to become the country's fastest fast bowler to reach the mark.

Fastest Pakistani bowlers to 150 ODI wickets:

Saqlain Mushtaq — 78 matches

Shaheen Shah Afridi — 80 matches*

Waqar Younis — 91 matches

Shoaib Akhtar — 91 matches

Saeed Ajmal — 93 matches

Umar Gul — 104 matches

Globally, Shaheen is the joint-fourth fastest bowler to take 150 ODI wickets. Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane holds the record, having reached the milestone in 73 matches, followed by Mitchell Starc (77) and Mushtaq (78). Shaheen shares the fourth spot with Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and India's Mohammed Shami, who also took 80 ODIs to complete 150 wickets.

The Pakistan captain added another wicket to his tally soon after, dismissing England batter Joe Root, who was caught at backward point. Shaheen won the toss and elected to field against England in the ODI tri-series match. England are looking for their first win of the tournament after losing to Pakistan by 87 runs in their opening match. They then saw Sri Lanka chase down 430 at Rawalpindi, the second-highest total successfully chased in ODI cricket, despite Harry Brook scoring the fastest double century in the format off 114 balls. Pakistan, meanwhile, began the tri-series with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi and also defended their total against the same opponents. They made two changes to their playing XI for Sunday's match, the first of the tournament's Lahore leg.