Over the years, the World Cup tournament has seen the best of the bowlers playing at their peak and making head turn from all over the world. From playing a pivotal role in their side’s win, to breaching the five-wicket haul, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has witnessed quite amazing spells. And today, in this article, we bring you some amazing spells produced by bowlers from around the world at the highest stage.
Here’s the list of the top 5 bowling performances from the tournament:
1. Ajantha Mendis – 6/8 vs Zimbabwe, 2012:
Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis has the best bowling figures in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup. His 6/8 against Zimbabwe in the 2012 edition of the T20 World Cup helped Sri Lanka defend their total of 183 to register a thumping 82-run win. Mendis’ 6/8 is also the second-best bowling figure in the shortest format of the game after India’s sensational pacer Deepak Chahar’s 6/7, which came against Bangladesh in 2019.
2. Rangana Herath – 5/3 vs New Zealand, 2014:
Another spinner from Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath has the record of second-best bowling figures in the T20 World Cup. His mesmerizing spell of 5/3 against New Zealand at Chattogram helped Sri Lanka defeat New Zealand while defending a total of 120 runs. His match-winning spell helped his side enter the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2014, where they defeated India and emerged out as CHAMPIONS.
3. Umar Gul – 5/6 vs New Zealand, 2009:
Pakistan’s Umar Gul holds the record for the best bowling figures by a fast bowler in the ICC T20 World Cup. His match-winning figures of 5/6 at The Oval in 2009 led Pakistan to bowl out New Zealand for just 99 runs, eventually winning the game by 6 wickets. Umar also emerged out as the highest wicket-taker in that tournament with 13 wickets to his name.
4. Ahsan Malik – 5/19 vs South Africa, 2014:
Netherlands’ fast bowler Ahsan Malik holds the record of the best bowling figures in the ICC T20 World Cup by players from an associate nation. His 5.19 against South Africa at Chattogram in 2014 stole the show in that game, however, the Netherlands’ narrowly missed out on the win by 6 runs.
5. Mujeeb Ur Rahman – 5/20 vs Scotland, 2021:
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman registered his career-best bowling figures in the shortest format of the game, whish is also one of the best bowling figures in the history of T20 World Cup. During the Super 12 match of ICC T20 World cup 2021, Mujeeb’s spell of 5/20 against Scotland helped Afghanistan register a win.
