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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BJP workers protest Bengaluru event on Umar Khalid, taken into preventive custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP workers, led by former Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, staged a protest outside the heavily fortified BIC in the city on Tuesday ahead of an event.
The editors of the book “Umar Khalid and His World” have planned a reading of excerpts from the book at the venue, followed by a discussion involving several “historians and intellectuals”.
The BJP activists raised slogans demanding the cancellation of the event. They attempted to enter the venue by breaking through the barricades put up by the police.
Police personnel deployed at the spot took the BJP workers into preventive custody.
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The party had on Monday petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh seeking cancellation of the event organised in support of activist Umar Khalid.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan met the commissioner and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Khalid is currently in jail in connection with allegations of conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots.
In a post on ‘X’ earlier in the day, the Karnataka BJP alleged that while courts are still hearing cases related to anti-national activities, the Congress-backed ecosystem is busy glorifying individuals who aim to divide Bharat.
“Why is Bengaluru being turned into a hub for celebrating such elements? Is this the ‘cultural contribution’ the Siddaramaiah government wants to promote? Our city is a land of innovators and patriots, not a playground for the ‘Tukde Tukde’ (divisive) narrative,” it alleged.
The Supreme Court on April 20 dismissed Khalid’s plea seeking review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The court had earlier said there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (another accused) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that prosecution material suggests their involvement in the “planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction” of the riots.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
