Rashid Khan reaches 400 wickets in T20 cricket, does so in quickest time
Abu Dhabi, Nov 7: Afghanistan's premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan picked up his 400th wicket in competitive T20 cricket during the team's T20 World Cup match against New Zealand here on Sunday.
The 23-year-old spinner reached the milestone when he bowled New Zealand opener Martin Guptill with a wrong'un in the ninth over of the Kiwi innings, even as the batter tried to go for a slog sweep at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Rashid achieved the feat in his 289th T20 match.
Only three other bowlers have crossed the 400-wicket mark in T20 cricket. Dwayne Bravo, the first to reach the feat in 364 matches, also became the first bowler to cross 500 T20 wickets. The West Indies all-rounder, who has just announced his international retirement from the format, has 553 wickets from 512 matches.
Two other bowlers that followed him to the feat are Imran Tahir (in 320 matches) and Sunil Narine (in 362 matches), both reaching the milestone earlier this year.
Rashid also holds the record for most T20 scalps in a calendar year, having picked a staggering 96 wickets in 2018.
His economy rate of 6.34 is the second best behind West Indies' Sunil Narine among bowlers who have played 200 T20 games.
Earlier in the tournament, Rashid became the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals during Afghanistan's Super 12 match against Pakistan. The dismissed batter, on that occasion, was veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez.
Rashid is only the fourth man, after Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan and Lasith Malinga, to achieve the milestone of 100 wickets in T20Is.
Rashid picked his 100th wicket in only his 53rd match, surpassing Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga's previous record of reaching the landmark in his 76th game.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
