'Congratulations on your 100 Test wickets' - Former Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram congratulates Shaheen Afridi on achieving famous landmark in Tests

Shaheen Afridi (Source: Twitter)

Making a comeback into the Test side after almost a year, Shaheen Afridi completed the milestone of 100 wickets in the longest format of the game. The Pakistani pacer was injured in the last year in exactly the same stadium in Galle. The pacer from Khyber Agency has picked his 100th Test wicket at the same venue where he was injured.

The 23-year-old was at his usual best with the new ball against Sri Lanka on the first day of the first Test between the two Asian sides in Galle. The left-arm quick bowler swung the ball into the right-handers and caused the troubles straightaway. In the third over of the match, Shaheen trapped Nishan Madushka with a good-length delivery. Madushka edged the ball, and the wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed caught the ball comfortably.

Wasim Akram congratulates Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen was off and running. The Pakistani pacer had claimed his 100th Test scalp with a beauty. The left arm pacer did not just stop there. Throughout the first spell, Shaheen was dangerous. The swing bowler operated at a high pace and swung the ball well. Afridi dismissed Kusal Mendis with a very good delivery. He then followed it up with another good delivery to dismiss Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne.

The deadly opening spell from Afridi had Sri Lanka at 53/3 in no time. Pakistan claimed the first hour of Day 1 of the Test, thanks to the brilliant spell from Shaheen. It was appreciated by the former Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram. Considered one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Akram was impressed with Afridi’s bowling against Sri Lanka.

The former World Cup winner took to Twitter and tweeted “Congratulations @iShaheenAfridi on your 100 test wickets, just one of the many milestones to come...Keep going strong!”. Sri Lanka later recovered from the early blip and scored 312 runs in their first innings, thanks to the rescue act from Dhananjaya De Silva and Angelo Mathews.