Mujeeb Ur Rahman surpasses 50 T20I scalps: Decoding his stats
What's the story
Mujeeb Ur Rahman on Friday (March 24) became only the third Afghanistan bowler to complete 50 T20I wickets. He accomplished the milestone with a two-wicket haul in the opening T20I versus Pakistan. The mystery spinner claimed 2/9 in four overs as the Afghan side went on to clinch the contest by six wickets. Here we look at Mujeeb's stats in the format.
Stats
A match-winning spell from Mujeeb
Though Pakistan won the toss, their decision of batting first in Sharjah turned out to be a disaster. Mujeeb was on the money straightaway as he didn't give many run-scoring opportunities. The spinner dismissed the dangerous Azam Khan for a duck before getting the better of opposition skipper Shadab Khan (12). Pakistan, hence, could only manage 92/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Stats
50 wickets for Mujeeb
Mujeeb has now raced to 51 wickets in 39 T20Is at a sensational average of 17.69. The tally includes a four-wicket haul and a fifer as well. Among Afghanistan players, only Rashid Khan (125) and Mohammad Nabi (86) have claimed more wickets in the format. Mujeeb's economy rate of 6.22 is the fifth-best among bowlers with 50 or more T20I wickets.
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Do you know?
Mujeeb is among the only 10 bowlers to claim a five-wicket haul at the ICC T20 World Cup. He accomplished the feat versus Scotland (5/20) in the 2021 event. No other Afghan bowler owns a five-wicket haul in the competition.
Summary
How did the game pan out?
Pakistan struggled to get going with the bat, losing wickets at key junctures. They lost a heap of wickets inside the powerplay as Afghanistan bowlers were spot-on. Besides Mujeeb, Mohammad Nabi (2/12) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (2/13) delivered stellar spells. Chasing 93, Rashid Khan's men crossed the line in 17.5 overs with Nabi (38*) leading the charge. Afghanistan are 1-0 up in the three-match series.
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Afghanistan's maiden international over Pakistan
Notably, this was Afghanistan's maiden victory over Pakistan in international cricket. Before this match, the two sides met in three T20Is and the Men in Green emerged winners every single time. It is also worth noting that 92/9 is Pakistan's fifth-lowest total in T20Is.