Asif Afridi breaks 92-year-old record with brilliant five-for in Pak vs SA

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan spin bowler Asif Afridi has broken a 92-year-old record. He has become the oldest player to take five wickets on debut. At the start of the Rawalpindi Test against South Africa, Asif Afridi was 38 years and 299 days old. He took five wickets for 47 runs in 26 overs. Pakistani bowler Asif Afridi who just made his debut in Pakistan Vs South Africa test match, now has a brand new record in his name.

For 16 long years, Asif Afridi toiled in Pakistan’s domestic circuit, spinning webs on dusty pitches while international honours remained out of reach. But in Rawalpindi, under the soft autumn sun and a growing hush of expectation, the 38-year-old finally wrote his name into Test history, and he did it with a performance that blended grit, guile, and years of hard-earned wisdom.

Coming into the match as one of Pakistan’s oldest Test debutants, Asif wasn’t the headline act. But as South Africa’s middle order crumbled, one name kept reappearing on the scorecard – Asif Afridi.

After a steady but wicketless opening spell, Asif’s moment arrived in the second session on Day 2. Bowling with the kind of patience only years in the wilderness can teach, he broke through with the wicket of Tony de Zorzi, trapping him in front with a delivery that dipped late and thudded into the shin. The umpire’s finger stayed down, but a timely review confirmed what Asif and the crowd already knew: his first Test wicket was finally in the bag.

And he wasn’t done yet.

Just four balls later, he outfoxed Dewald Brevis, finding a hint of extra turn and bounce that drew the edge. The ball flew to slip, and with that, Asif had two. The stadium roared, not just in celebration, but in recognition of a story worth applauding – a tale of persistence rewarded.

In the overs that followed, the left-arm spinner tightened his grip on the South African innings. He bowled unchanged spells marked by unerring accuracy and clever variation. He dried up the runs, mounted pressure, and reaped the rewards.

His third and fourth wickets came from a similar playbook: teasing flight, subtle drift, and relentless precision. South Africa’s batters, desperate to break free, found themselves walking back one after the other, victims of Asif’s masterclass in old-school spin.

By the time he picked up Simon Harmer, Asif had not only completed a five-wicket haul, but had also tilted the match decisively in Pakistan’s favour. It wasn’t just a personal triumph; it was a statement, that age is no barrier when skill, discipline, and determination are in abundance.

“To see Asif bhai finally get this moment is emotional for all of us,” said team-mate Saud Shakeel. “He’s been doing this for years in domestic cricket. Today, the world saw what we’ve known all along.”

In a game that often moves quickly and forgets even quicker, Asif Afridi reminded everyone of the power of patience. Sixteen years after his first-class debut in this very city, he stood on the same ground with the ball in hand and a five-wicket haul to his name – a reward, not for a single day’s brilliance, but for a career built on quiet resilience.