Pakistan has been hosting a tri-series along with England and Sri Lanka in Pakistan. This is a big series for the revival of the tri-series, as nowadays there are no such series being played given the busy schedule. In the reverse fixture of the series, Pakistan is playing England, and during the match, captain Shaheen Shah Afridi took his 150th ODI wicket.

The Men in Green have already won two out of their two matches against Sri Lanka and England. They are the favourites to qualify for the final of the tri-series. Pakistan has not been at their best form across formats; despite winning some series, they have failed in the major tournaments against the big teams across formats.

Shaheen Afridi achieves new milestone, becomes joint-second fastest to pick 150 ODI wickets

Shaheen Afridi, who has been the spearhead of Pakistan’s bowling in the ODIs, dismissed Tom Banton early on in the innings and became the joint second-fastest pacer to achieve the 150th ODI wicket. He joined his arch-rival India counterpart Mohammed Shami as both achieved the milestone in 80 matches for their respective sides. This is a big boost for the left-arm pacer.

On top, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has been sitting having achieved the record in 77 matches for the Kangaroos. Apart from these three, Trent Boult and Brett Lee are the other fastest pacers to have achieved the milestone. Not even Jasprit Bumrah has the record for picking the fastest 150 ODI wickets; in the list of five, three of them are left-arm seamers.

Shaheen Afridi is the second-fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 150 ODI wickets

Sandeep Lamichhane, the captain of Nepal, is the fastest to 150 ODI wickets. He reached the 150-wicket milestone in just 73 games. Being an associate nation cricketer, this is a massive milestone to achieve, as there is not much ODI cricket that has been played in the country. This showcases his skills and quality in the format.

In ODIs, Shaheen Afridi is the second-fastest Pakistani to pick 150 ODI wickets. Saqlain Mushtaq holds the record for being the fastest to 150 ODI wickets after reaching the milestone in his 78th game. Shaheen Afridi will look to break more records and pick wickets consistently, as consistency has been a problem for the pacer.

Pakistan in firm control against England

Coming to the match, Shaheen Afridi won the toss and elected to field first. They made two changes from their last game: Shadab Khan came in for Faheem Ashraf, and Razaullah came in for Naseem Shah. The Men in Green had a superb start as they removed the top order early, and they were reduced to 52/4.

Ben Duckett has been stuck at one end, as he has been lone fighting with 83 runs, and Will Jacks is at the crease as the Three Lions will look to score a respectable total, as they have a solid bowling attack which can cause trouble for the Pakistan batters in the latter part of the innings.

A loss for England will technically rule them out of the tri-series. They have lost two of the first two games they played. This is a do-or-die game for the side.