LAHORE: Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi etched his name on the elusive list of Pakistan captains by dismissing Australia’s Alex Carey in the ongoing second ODI at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Tuesday.
Shaheen dismissed Carey full and wide on the first ball of Australia’s innings to become the third Pakistan captain to take a wicket on the first ball of an ODI.
Akram first achieved the feat when he dismissed Andy Flower on the first ball of an ODI against Zimbabwe in 1993, while Younis dismissed England’s Marcus Trescothick in 2001.
The Pakistan captains took a wicket on the first delivery of the ODI
Wasim Akram – 1993 vs Zimbabwe in Karachi
Waqar Younis – 2001 v England at Leeds
Shaheen Shah Afridi – 2026 vs Australia in Lahore
Following a gifted scalp, Shaheen also cleaned up Mathew Kuhneman in the 47th over. He struck again in the last over, dismissing lower-order batsman Nathan Ellis.
His bowling exploits were supported by Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed and Arafat Minhas as Pakistan restricted Australia to 231/9 in their 50 overs.
However, at the time of filing this story, the Green Shirts were at a precarious 74/5 in 16 overs and needed 157 more runs in 34 overs.
Notably, Pakistan take a 1-0 lead in the three-match home series against Australia with a hard-earned five-wicket win in the series opener in Rawalpindi last week.
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