Bowlers play a vital role in every format of the game be it Test ODI or T20 they are the ones who win tournaments for the team. We have witnessed some memorable spells in the shortest international format of the game. In this article, we will look at the best bowling spells in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Ajantha Mendis: 6 Wickets for 8 Runs
The Mystery spinner from Sri Lanka holds the record for best spells in the history of the T20 World Cup so far. Mendis picked up six wickets giving away just eight runs against Zimbabwe during the 2012 T20 World Cup held in Sri Lanka. Chasing a target of 183 runs Zimbabwe could only manage to score 100 runs and eventually lost the match by 82 runs. Ajanta Mendis who was the wrecker in chief started the havoc by cleaning up the top four Zimbabwean batters which included the likes of Hamilton Madsakanza and Brandon Taylor in the powerplay itself.
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The spinner came back to clean up the tale helping Sri Lanka win the match comprehensively. Ajantha was well supported by fellow spinner Jeeva Mendis who picked up three wickets as well.
Rangana Herath: 5 Wickets for 3 Runs
The Sri Lankan left-arm spinner bowled a match-winning spell against New Zealand when he picked up five wickets for three runs while defending a low score in a must-win encounter for his side during the 2014 T20 World Cup held in Bangladesh. Chasing a target of 120 runs New Zealand got off to a decent start as the openers added 18 runs in three in a low-scoring encounter when Herath came to bowl and started to spin a web through his left arm spin. He played a major role in retailing New Zealand’s top order as the Blackcaps lost six wickets for 15 runs and were reduced to 33 for 6 with Herath pickering four and assisting in the other two.
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Umar Gul: 5 Wickets for 6 Runs
The Former Pakistani fast bowler guided Pakistan to victory against New Zealand at the Oval during the T20 World Cup 2009. The eventual champions bundled out the Blackcaps for just 99 runs in the 18th match of the tournament courtesy of some quality fast bowling from Umar Gul.
The left-arm pacer picked up five wickets after giving away just six runs which included the names of batters like Scott Styris and James Franklin.
Gul who came on to bowl after the powerplay cleaned up the New Zealand middle order helping his team to restrict the Blackcaps to a chasable total.
Other than Gul the duo of Abdul Razzaq and Mohammed Amir picked up three wickets between them.
Sam Curran: 5 Wickets for 10 Runs
The English fast bowler who was also the Man of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia played a major role in England’s title-winning campaign as he picked up wickets in all phases of the innings. His best bowling came early in the tournament against Afghanistan at Perth as the left-arm pacer picked up a five-wicket haul to break the back of Afghanistan’s batting. Curran ended up with figures of 5-10 in 3.4 overs to help England register a comfortable win over Afghanistan.
Also Read: T20 World Cup: The trump cards for different Cricket Teams
Ahsan Malik: 5-19
The Netherlands fast bowler Ahsan Malik bowled a memorable spell against South Africa where he picked up five wickets for 19 runs in four overs with an economy of 4.75 runs per over. Malik’s accurate bowling helped the Netherlands restrict South Africa to a low score of 145 runs at the end of 20 overs. Although the Netherlands fell short of the target and handed South Africa a hard-fought victory by a small margin of five runs Ahsan’s spell was one of the memorable moments of the tournament.
