Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan etched his name in the record books by delivering the most economical 4-over spell on T20I debut. The 18-year old conceded just 7 runs and picked up 3 wickets from his full quota of overs in the first T20I against West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
With a first-class match in progress at the same venue, the curators used a different pitch for Pakistan’s tour opener. The surface wore a dry look to it even as Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed surprisingly chose to bowl first.
Comeback man Ahmed Shehzad got the visitors off to the perfect start by effecting a smart run-out to get rid of Evin Lewis. While opener Chadwick Walton looked to break free, the experienced Marlon Samuels struggled to time the ball. Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim combined with the seamers to keep the West Indies batsmen in check.
Soon after Wasim trapped Samuels in front, Sarfraz brought in Shadab from the other end. In just the second ball of his international career, the wrist-spinner picked up his maiden wicket by deceiving Walton with the one that came back in.
He followed it up by prising out another wicket in the same over. Enticed by the loopy leg-break, Lendl Simmons attempted to sweep against the turn and only managed to drag it back into his stumps. Shadab's inaugural over had produced two scalps for just one run.
The Mianwali-born spinner struck yet again in his very next over. His victim was Sunil Narine who had been promoted up the order to take the attack to the opposition. However, the mystery spinner’s slog-sweep only went as far as the long-on fielder. At that stage, Shadab’s figures read 1.2-0-1-3.
Rovman Powell and Kieron Pollard spent the rest of the over trying to figure out which way the ball was turning. The leg-spinner could have had the latter as well in his third over but Kamran Akmal shelled a fairly straight-forward chance at backward point.
However, Shadab continued to weave webs around the West Indies batsmen in the remaining part of his spell to come up with the most economical figures on debut. He went past the joint-record held by Nepal spinner Shakti Gauchan, Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and West Indies' Garey Mathurin.
While all those three bowlers had given away nine runs, Shadab procured the record for himself by conceding two runs lesser from his four overs. He has begun to live up those expectations generated by his impressive showing in the recently completed edition of the Pakistan Super League. Aided by his splendid effort, Pakistan were able to restrict the hosts to 111/8 which ultimately paved the way for a comfortable six-wicket victory.
Here are the top ten economical full quota spells on T20I debut.
| Bowler | Team | Opponent | Runs Conceded | Wickets Taken | Economy Rate | Venue | Year |
| Shadab Khan | Pakistan | West Indies | 7 | 3 | 1.75 | Barbados | 2017 |
| Shakti Gauchan | Nepal | Hong Kong | 9 | 3 | 2.25 | Chittagong | 2014 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | Pakistan | 9 | 3 | 2.25 | Bangalore | 2012 |
| Garey Mathurin | West Indies | England | 9 | 3 | 2.25 | The Oval | 2011 |
| Ray Price | Zimbabwe | Sri Lanka | 9 | 2 | 2.25 | Ontario | 2008 |
| Cameron Boyce | Australia | Pakistan | 10 | 2 | 2.50 | Dubai | 2014 |
| Shem Ngoche | Kenya | Scotland | 10 | 2 | 2.50 | Nairobi | 2010 |
| Barinder Sran | India | Zimbabwe | 10 | 4 | 2.50 | Harare | 2016 |
| George Dockrell | Ireland | Afghanistan | 11 | 2 | 2.75 | Colombo | 2010 |
| George O’Brien | Bermuda | Scotland | 11 | 2 | 2.75 | Belfast | 2008 |
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