3 lesser known records held by Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan, the left-arm swing bowling all-rounder from Baroda, announced his retirement from all forms of Cricket on January 4, 2019, putting an end to a career that spanned over 16 years and included 29 Test matches, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is.

Having made his international debut way back in 2003, Pathan made a mark quickly and was touted to be the next Kapil Dev. Captain Sourav Ganguly and coach Greg Chappel invested their faith in a 19-year-old Pathan and earmarked him as one of the potential match-winners for the future.

While Pathan made headlines during the initial part of his career, injuries and lack of form during the second half of his career led to him being sidelined and he soon faded into the shadows, having played his last international match in 2012.

Apart from his skill with the ball, Pathan was an extremely handy batsman as well, scoring 1000+ runs in both Tests and ODIs. His only Test century came against Pakistan in 2007 in Bangalore.

While some of Pathan's standout performances include his title-winning performance in the 2007 World T20 and the first over hat-trick against Pakistan, the left-arm seamer is holder of a few records that have been forgotten over time.

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On that note, here are three lesser-known records Irfan Pathan holds from international cricket.

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#1 First Indian bowler to receive the Man of the Match award in T20Is

Irfan Pathan was a key member in India's title-winning campaign

Irfan Pathan's heroics in the final of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 are well documented. He picked up 3 crucial wickets in the middle overs and kept the Pakistan batting line-up from getting to the 158-run target.

His victims included skipper Shoaib Malik, Yasir Arafat and the dangerous Shahid Afridi, dismissing the latter for a golden duck. On the back of his 3/16 effort, Pathan was rightly named as the Man of the Match.

This was the first instance of an Indian bowler being named as the Man of the Match in T20Is. In seven T20Is prior to this encounter, India had won four and all of these games saw Indian batsmen walk away with the award.

#2 Most wickets by a pace bowler in a two-match Test series (21 wickets)

2nd Test Australia v India Day One

In 2005, team India embarked on a tour to Zimbabwe for a 2 match Test Series. Thanks to Irfan Pathan's heroics, India clean swept the hosts 2-0 and continued the trend of winning overseas Test matches under the inspiring captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.

Irfan created history in this series by becoming the only pace bowler in Test history to pick up 20 wickets or more in a 2 match Test series. He took 21 wickets in the series and went past the previous record held by Australian pace bowler John James Ferris, who picked up 18 wickets in a 2 Test match series against England, way back in 1886. Irfan was named the player of the series for his stupendous performance.

Apart from Pathan, only 4 bowlers (all spinners) have taken more than 20 wickets in a Test series comprising 2 matches -Rangana Herath (23 wickets), Muttiah Muralitharan (22 wickets), Anil Kumble and Johnny Briggs (21 wickets each).

#3 Only Indian player to open the batting and bowling in the same match in all 3 formats of the game

Pakistan v India - ICC World Twenty20 2012: Super Eights Group 2

Apart from his bowling, Irfan was also extremely handy with the bat, prompting the Indian team management under the leadership of then-coach Greg Chappel to promote him as an opening batsman.

In the 2005 Delhi Test against Sri Lanka, Irfan was promoted to open the batting in India's second innings. He also opened the bowling in Sri Lanka's second innings, a match which India eventually went on to win by 188 runs. He repeated the feat again in the 2006 Mumbai Test match against England and in the 2008 Adelaide Test match against Australia.

In 2005 ODI series against South Africa at home, Irfan Pathan opened the batting and bowling in the 4th ODI at Kolkata. However, the move turned out to be a flop as Pathan was dismissed for a second-ball duck. He never opened the batting again in ODIs.

In the 2012 ICC World T20 match against Engalnd, Irfan Pathan became the first Indian to open the batting and bowling in T20Is. Irfan thus became the only Indian player to open the batting and bowling in the same match in all 3 formats of the game. Apart from Irfan Pathan, only Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan have achieved this feat.