Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan equalled the record of Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi of taking the highest 39 wickets in the T20 World Cups.

He earned the feat by taking four wickets conceding only nine runs in his four-over spell against ongoing T20 World Cup match against Papua New Guinea in Muscat on Thursday.

Shakib’s four-wicket haul helped the Tigers register an 84-run win against Papua New Guinea in the ongoing T20 World Cup and book a place in the next phase of the World Cup— the Super 12s.

In Thursday’s match, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted 181 for 7 in 20 overs. Mahmudullah Riyad posted 50. In reply, Papua New Guinea tumbled for 97 for all wickets in 19.3 overs. It was Bangladesh’s biggest in terms of runs.

“We’re getting more confident playing each game. The defeat in the first match was a setback, but in the T20 format, the team that is better on the day wins. But now the pressure is off and we can play expressively,” Shakib said.

Afridi took 39 wickets in 34 matches of the T20 World Cups between 2007 and 2016. Shakib needed 28 matches to touch Afridi’s record. Along the way of taking 39 wickets, Shakib registered three four-wicket hauls, while Afridi has two four-wicket hauls.

On Thursday, Shakib also scored 46 runs off 37 balls which helped him to earn the player of the match award. In the previous match against Oman, he also was the player of the match.

In the previous match, Shakib became the highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals surpassing Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.

MH