Rashid Khan breaks record for most overs bowled in a 21st century Test match

Afghanistan's Rashid Khan created a new record for the most overs bowled in a Test match in the 21st century. In the 2nd match against Zimbabwe, the leg-spinner bowled a stunning 99.2 overs in the two innings combined to enter the record books.

While he bowled 36.3 overs in the first innings, he bowled an astonishing 62.5 overs in Zimbabwe's second essay. Rashid Khan picked up a total of 11 wickets in this match, including a seven-wicket haul in the second innings.

This is the most overs bowled in a Test match since Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan’s 113.5 overs against England in 1998.

West Indies’ Sonny Ramadhin holds the record for bowling the most overs in a Test match ever. He bowled 129 overs in a game against England in 1957.

Ever since six-ball overs came into existence, only 32 bowlers have bowled more than or equal to 100 overs in a Test match to date. Rashid Khan missed out on being on this elite list by just four deliveries.

In the last 25 years, apart from Muralitharan, Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq is the only other bowler to have bowled more overs than Rashid Khan in a Test. In 1997, Mushtaq bowled 107.2 overs against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Rashid Khan equals his own record for picking most wickets in a Test for an Afghanistan bowler

Sean Williams raises his bat after getting to 150 as Rashid Khan looks on.

Rashid Khan registered his second ten-wicket haul in a Test match and is the only Afghan bowler to have done so.

In 2019, in the only Test against Bangladesh, Rashid Khan returned with figures of 11/104. His bowling efforts in that game helped Afghanistan win by 224 runs.

The 22-year-old's efforts helped Afghanistan stay ahead at all times in this game. Even though Afghanistan took a massive lead in the first innings, Zimbabwe fought back valiantly after the designated hosts enforced follow-on.

Captain Sean Williams was unbeaten on 151 but ran out of partners at the other end, thanks, in large part, to the leg-spinner's heroics. They scrambled through to 365 runs, setting the Afghans a relatively small target of 108.

Even though they lost four wickets in the chase, Afghanistan managed to make it past the finish line to level the series 1-1.