Bowlers are always on their toes in T20I cricket, as batters come after them with no mercy. Despite that, many bowlers have shown their brilliance with the ball, bringing batters to their knees.
Here, we’ll look at the 5 best bowling performances in T20I cricket.
Dale Steyn (South Africa): 4/9 vs West Indies, 2007
Defending a low total in an altered game, Dale Steyn displayed his fast bowling skills. Batting first, South Africa mustered 58 runs for 8 wickets in 13 overs.
With a low total to defend, defeat was certain, but Steyn made sure they didn’t go down without a fight. The pacer came to bowl in the fourth over and got his first wicket on the third ball, dismissing Devon Smith with a perfect yorker.
Steyn returned in the fifth over and flattened the stumps 3 times with pin-point yorkers. He dismissed Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, and Dwayne Bravo.
Steyn’s spell brought South Africa back in the game for a bit, but in the end, the West Indies completed the chase.
Umar Gul (Pakistan): 5/6 vs South Africa, 2013
Umar Gul was at the fag end of his T20I career but showed his flair with the ball against South Africa. This was the only T20I match the Pakistani pacer played in 2013.
Pakistan posted a huge total of 195 for South Africa to chase in the second innings. South Africa were off to a flying start, but Gul broke their top order at the right time.
In his first over, Gul dismissed Faf du Plessis, Chris Morris, and Justin Ontong to leave South Africa in tatters at 51 for 4. He jolted the next wicket on the first ball of his second over and wrapped up the match by taking the last wicket on the score of 100.
Gul’s other T20I five-wicket haul came in the 2009 T20 World Cup with identical figures against New Zealand.
Yuzvendra Chahal (India): 6/25 vs England, 2017
Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is a nightmare for bowlers, given its batter-friendly surface. And India’s 202 in the first innings against England gave a clear picture of what to expect in the second innings.
But Yuzvendra Chahal stood as a wall between the total and England’s batters. The leggie opened the bowling from the other end and drew the first blood, dismissing Sam Billings on a golden duck.
England recovered from the early jolt and were cruising well at 119 for 3. Then Chahal struck back-to-back wickets of set Eoin Morgan and Joe Root.
His dismissals derailed England’s chase, and he fetched 3 more wickets in his last over to bag a haul of 6 for 25. Chahal spun India to a victory by 75 runs.
Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka): 6/16 vs Australia, 2011
Ajantha Mendis’ mystery spin got the better of the Australian batters in the second T20I in 2011. Sri Lanka were defending a total of 157 runs against Australia, but Mendis rattled their top and middle order.
Australia were off to a blazing start, with Shane Watson leading the charge, taking Australia’s score above 70 in the powerplay. It seemed like Australia would take away the game, but Mendis struck his first wicket by dismissing Watson at the close of the powerplay.
After that, he added David Warner and Shaun Marsh to his wickets tally. Australia recovered from Mendis’ strike, but the off-spinner came back, taking 2 back-to-back wickets and reducing the Aussies to 113 for 6.
He clean-bowled Mitchell Johnson to get his sixth wicket and pushed Sri Lanka closer to victory. Mendis’ 6fer helped Sri Lanka beat Australia by 8 runs.
Deepak Chahar (India): 6/7 vs Bangladesh, 2019
Deepak Chahar delivered a memorable spell against Bangladesh when other Indian bowlers went for runs. Defending a target of 175, Chahar opened the wickets tally for India, dismissing Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar on consecutive balls in the third over.
Bangladesh crawled their way back into the chase, cruising at 110 for 2. But Chahar’s timely third wicket derailed Bangladesh from the track.
Other Indian bowlers capitalised on this, reducing Bangladesh to 130 for 7. Chahar then wrapped up their tail to claim the figures of 6 for 7. These are the best bowling figures by a full-nation bowler in T20I cricket.
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