They say T20 cricket is all about batsmen dominating the game but have you ever thought about what if the bowler reduces the team to two or maybe 3 down in the very first Over?
Thrilling to think the same, right? So following are some bowlers who have been doing this thing, taking wickets in the very first over and making these T20i matches even more interesting.
Most Wickets in First Over in T20I for a Bowler
| Bowlers | Wickets | Innings |
|---|---|---|
| Bilal Khan (OMA) | 23 | 59 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND) | 18 | 74 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi (PAK) | 17 | 51 |
| Tim Southee (NZ) | 16 | 55 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi (AFG) | 15 | 37 |
| David Willey (ENG) | 15 | 37 |
| Junaid Siddique (UAE) | 14 | 33 |
| Angelo Mathews (SL) | 14 | 39 |
| Karan KC (NEP) | 10 | 24 |
| Mitchell Starc (AUS) | 10 | 46 |
#11 KMDN Kulasekara – 8
Now we have a former Sri Lankan pacer often known for his swinging abilities and the sheer accuracy that he possesses, due to which he has been quite successful in uprooting the wickets. He has taken 8 first-over wickets.
#10 Dale Steyn – 9
Steyn Gun, who is often known for his Test match heroics, has also done pretty well in T20Is. His raw pace has helped him take 9 wickets in the first over he bowled in this format.
#9 Mitchell Starc – 9
Up we have Starc; you would see him taking place in every record list with his pace. He has the knack of taking wickets early on, be it in any format of the game. He has taken 9 early breakthroughs to be a part of this list.
#8 Mashrafe Mortaza – 9
This Bangladeshi fast bowling legend has always delivered his best coming out to bowl, and he has been successful in taking 9 early breakthroughs heading into the innings in the shortest format of the game.
#6 Shaheen Shah Afridi – 10
Moving forward, we have a rising Pakistani star Shaheen Afridi who surprisingly makes the cut this early, considering the other players in the list are kind of more experienced than him, which nothing but shows us how talented he is. He has taken 10 wickets in the first over of the innings.
#5 Angelo Mathews – 11
Next, we have a Sri Lankan legend who often had his career induced with injuries due to which at the end. He had almost stopped bowling, but even after having a career with so many injuries, he still made it to this list with 11 opening wickets.
#4 Tim Southee – 13
Then we have Kiwi pacer Tim; he has just been so good in T20Is as well. But more often, people don’t consider him that good of a limited-overs bowler, but records don’t lie, and here we have him with 13 wickets in the very first over of the match.
#3 David Willey – 15
David Willey, we would say, is underrated for his bowling exploits in this format. Very less, we do hear about how well and consistently he performs and help his team in getting that starting advantage. The 15 out of 51 wickets he has taken are from the game-starting over, depicting his effectiveness.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 18
No surprises starting with our very own “Swing King.” Bhuvneshwar Kumar is among the top 3 in this chart, scalping 18 victims in the first over itself. We all know how valuable an asset he is, and this is just another thing that proves that as well.
#1 Bilal Khan – 20
Yes, you read it right. Bilal Khan, of Pakistani origin, who plays professional cricket for Oman, has the most first-over wickets in international T20 games. He has taken 20 wickets in the first over and sits comfortably in the first position on this list. He is one of the top ten highest wicket-takers in the year 2022 in international cricket.
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