PAK vs ENG 2026: Shaheen Afridi becomes quickest Pakistani pacer to 150 ODI wickets, surpasses Waqar, Akhtar

Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has become the quickest fast bowler from the country to complete 150 ODI wickets, surpassing the legendary duo of Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. While the left-arm seamer took 80 games to achieve this milestone, Waqar and Shoaib both took 91 matches each to reach their 150th ODI wicket. Afridi ticked off this feat during the ongoing ODI tri-series against England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. He is also the fourth-quickest overall, second among Pakistanis after Saqlain Mushtaq (78 matches), and tied with Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan on the fourth spot.

Bowlers Fastest to 150 ODI Wickets (Innings-wise) –

• Sandip Lamichhane (Nepal) – 73 Matches
• Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 77 Matches
• Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan) – 78 Matches
• Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – 80 Matches
• Mohammed Shami (India) – 80 Matches
• Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) – 80 Matches

Shaheen won the toss and elected to bowl first against a spirited England side. After conceding a four in his first over, Shaheen dismissed English opener Tom Banton (4) on the fifth ball and, with that, reached the landmark. Afridi bowled a fuller-length delivery that Banton drove straight into the hands of Arafat Minhas at the covers. That dismissal also ended Banton’s streak of four successive ODI fifties in his last four games, giving Pakistan a blistering start.

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Afridi didn’t stop there. On the fifth ball of his second over, he dismissed veteran English batter Joe Root, caught on five off seven balls. Two wickets in his back-to-back overs put pressure on England, who then lost their captain and in-form batter Harry Brook, run out on just one. To make things worse, Haris Rauf accounted for Jordan Cox on six, with England’s scorecard reading 52 for four inside the first 10 overs.

The captain struck gold in the first over of his second spell by removing the dangerous-looking Sam Curran on 42, breaking the 93-stand for the fifth wicket with opener Ben Duckett.

Meanwhile, Pakistan won their series opener against Sri Lanka and the second game against England, both in Rawalpindi. A win against England in Lahore would seal their place in the final of the tri-series.