New Delhi, 16 February (H.S.): Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid Khan became the first bowler in T20 cricket history to reach 700 wickets on Monday, achieving the milestone during his team's Group stage match against United Arab Emirates at Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The 27-year-old captain dismissed UAE's Mohammad Arfan hit-wicket in the 16th over—Arfan losing balance on a reverse sweep attempt without scoring—finishing with 1/24 from four overs that helped restrict UAE to 160/9 after Afghanistan opted to field first.

Rashid leads all T20 bowlers ahead of Dwayne Bravo's 631; among actives, Sunil Narine trails at 613, while in T20Is he tops with 191 wickets—surpassing New Zealand's Tim Southee (164) and Ish Sodhi (162).

Teammate Azmatullah Omarzai starred with 4/15, Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2; UAE's Sohaib Khan top-scored with 68 off 48, Alishan Sharafu adding 40 off 31, as Afghanistan chased 161 in 19.2 overs for a five-wicket win—Omarzai unbeaten on 40 off 21—keeping Super 8 hopes alive ahead of Thursday's Canada clash in Chennai.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar