Afghanistan’s 17-year-old off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman smashed a world record on Wednesday, not with the ball but willowing the bat in a way that would make any top-order batsman proud. Mujeeb, making his debut in the Big Bash League, registered the highest score by a No. 11 in T20 cricket.
Coming into bat at when his side Brisbane Heat was in a precarious situation at 101 for 9. Mujeeb smoked 27 off 22 balls – the highest score by a No.11 in T20s – to push the Heat to a fighting total of 146.
Mujeeb, whose highest-score across formats was 16, played freely, hitting three boundaries in his innings. He, in fact, started his innings by reveres sweeping his Afghanistan teammate Rashid Khan, who is in the middle of a red-hot spell, having already picked up three wickets.
Mujeeb put on a 45-run stand off just 25 balls for the last wicket with Jimmy Peirson, which is the highest 10th wicket partnership in the history of BBL.
Mujeeb’s heroics with the bat, however, was not enough to secure a victory for his side in the opening match of the BBL. Adelaide Strikers’ Alex Carey smashed a 70 off 46 balls as they reached home in 19.1 overs and with five wickets in hand.
Mujeeb could not repeat his feat with the ball. He went only for 26 runs in his four-over quota but couldn’t pick any wicket. However, one could say that he was unlucky as Jake Weatherald was dropped in the very first over and that, in a way, hurt the Heat in the context of the game.