Just 24 hours after becoming only the third batsman in history to register 2, 000 T20I runs, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik reached another landmark during the side’s clash against Australia at Harare on Monday.
The veteran batsman became the first player to feature in 100 T20 Internationals.
The 36-year-old overtook compatriot Shahid Afridi who retired from the game with 99 T20Is under his belt. India’s MS Dhoni is the next most capped player with 90 appearances followed by Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez who has played in 83 matches.
The first to play 100 matches in each format -
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 2, 2018
Tests: Colin Cowdrey 🇬🇧 (11 Jul 1968)
ODIs: Allan Border 🇦🇺 (19 Jan 1985)
T20Is: Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (02 Jul 2018)#PAKvAUS #AUSvPAK
On Sunday, Malik had become only the third batsman to go past the 2,000-run mark in the format during his unbeaten innings of 37 in Pakistan’s 74-run win over Zimbabwe. New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill have also crossed the mark.
The right-hander has been in stupendous form in T20 cricket over the past two seasons. His excellent form has been one of the primary reasons for Pakistan’s dominance which has seen them win 20 of their last 23 T20I clashes.
In his last 25 T20 innings for Pakistan, Malik has scored 777 runs at an average of over 70 and a strike-rate above 150.
