Top 5 best bowling performances in T20 internationals

Umar Gul

Though Twenty20 is considered as a batsman’s game due to its short duration and fielding restrictions, there have been nights when the batsmen have had no reply to certain bowlers.

Here are the top 5 best bowling figures in T20 internationals.

Ajantha Mendis (6-8 vs Zimbabwe, Hambantota, Sri Lanka 2012)

Ajantha Mendis holds the world record for the best T20 International figure when he took 6-8 against Zimbabwe in ICC World T20 2012. On a spinning pitch, Mendis went on to decimate the Zimbabwean middle and lower order batsmen, bowling them out for 100. Sri Lanka won the match by 82 runs.

Ajantha Mendis (6-16 vs Australia, Pallekele, Sri Lanka, 2011)Ajantha Mendis became the first man to take 6 wickets in a T20 international match when he dismissed 6 Aussie batsman in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. Australia had managed to restrict the Lankan batsmen to just 157 and had got off to a speedy start, scoring 71 in 5 overs. Mendis has other ideas, though, picking up 6-16 to win the match for Sri Lanka by 8 runs.

Rangana Herath (5-3 vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup 2014, Chittagong, Bangladesh)

Rangana Herath played a very important role in Sri Lanka making it into the finals of the T20 World Cup in 2014. He took 5-3 against New Zealand in the final group match to demolish the Kiwi top order. Sri Lanka had been dismissed for a paltry 119, but Herath dismissed the likes of Brendon Mccullum and Ross Taylor in quick successions to turn the match on its head.

Umar Gul (5-6 vs South Africa in 2013, Centurion, South Africa)

Umar Gul repeated his feat of 5 wickets, against South Africa at the Centurion in South Africa. Coming into bowl as the first change bowler, he cleaned up the middle order in a burst of 3 overs, leaving South Africa all out for 100. Pakistan won the match by 100 runs

Umar Gul (5-6 vs New Zealand in ICC World T20 2009, The Oval, England)

Umar Gul became the first man to take 5 wickets in a T20 International match when he took 5 wickets for just 6 runs against New Zealand in World T20 in 2009. His exceptional bowling figures left the Kiwis with just 99 runs to defend, which Pakistan chased down easily for the loss of 4 wickets. It was an exceptional display of inswing yorkers as 3 of his wickets were either bowled or leg before.