Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi added his name to a short and distinguished list on Tuesday, taking a wicket with the very first ball of the second ODI against Australia at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Bowling the opening delivery of the match, Shaheen dismissed Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who was bowled. The wicket gave Pakistan an immediate breakthrough and placed Shaheen in rare historical company, according to a report by Yahoo Sports.
With that delivery, Shaheen became only the third Pakistan captain to take a wicket with the first ball of an ODI. The first was Wasim Akram, who dismissed Zimbabwe's Andy Flower with the opening delivery of an ODI in Karachi on December 24, 1993. Waqar Younis became the second when he removed England's Marcus Trescothick with the first ball of an ODI at Headingley in Leeds on June 17, 2001.
The feat has deeper roots in Pakistan cricket history. Former captain Imran Khan was the first Pakistan player of any kind to take a wicket with the opening ball of an ODI, doing so against India in Sharjah on March 22, 1985, when he dismissed Ravi Shastri with the first delivery. Imran went on to take five more wickets that day, finishing with figures of 6 for 14.
Tuesday's dismissal also makes Shaheen the third Pakistan bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of an ODI on more than one occasion, joining Wasim Akram and Mohammad Irfan on that list. Shaheen had previously achieved the milestone in April 2022 when he dismissed Australia's Travis Head with the opening delivery of an ODI.
The second ODI in Lahore marked another chapter in a Pakistan-Australia series that has seen Shaheen step forward not just as a bowler, but as a captain with a flair for historic moments from the very first delivery.
