T20I cricket is known as the batting-dominant game because all the rules are mostly favoring the batters. Batsmen don’t have the fear of losing their wickets, and they go hard after the bowlers. But over the years, we have seen some of the memorable performances delivered by the bowler.
That’s what we are going to talk about in this article. Here, we will talk about the top ten best bowling figures in T20I cricket. A bowling spell around the economy rate of 6, but the spells registered here will blow your mind as the economy rate is why below than one can expect.
So, let’s check out this elite list of bowlers who have delivered some great performances to register best bowling figures in T20Is. More than 100 countries play this sport, so this list will include bowlers from associate nations as well.
List of Best Bowling Figure in T20I Cricket
| Player | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Team | Vs | Ground | Match Date |
| Syazrul Idrus | 4.0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 2.00 | Malaysia | China | Kuala Lumpur | 26 Jul 2023 |
| Harsha Bharadwaj | 4.0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0.75 | Singapore | Mongolia | Bangi | 05 Sep 2024 |
| Peter Aho | 3.4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1.36 | Nigeria | Sierra Leone | Lagos | 24 Oct 2021 |
| Deepak Chahar | 3.2 | – | 7 | 6 | 2.10 | India | Bangladesh | Nagpur | 10 Nov 2019 |
| Dinesh Nakrani | 4.0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1.75 | Uganda | Lesotho | Kigali | 19 Oct 2021 |
| Ajantha Mendis | 4.0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2.00 | Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe | Hambantota | 18 Sep 2012 |
| MoazzamBaig | 4.0 | – | 9 | 6 | 2.25 | Malawi | Rwanda | Benoni | 16 Dec 2023 |
| JJ Smit | 4.0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 2.50 | Namibia | Uganda | Windhoek | 10 Apr 2022 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 4.0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 2.50 | Bangladesh | U.S.A. | Prairie View | 25 May 2024 |
| Abinash Bohara | 3.4 | – | 11 | 6 | 3.00 | Nepal | Maldives | Hangzhou | 01 Oct 2023 |
10. Abinash Bohara – 6/11 vs Maldives in 2023
Nepal’s pacer Abinash Bohara has bowled the best T20I bowling spell for his country. He had it during the Asian Games 2023 against Maldives. This was the 7th game of the tournament in Hangzhou. In the first innings, Nepal posted a total of 212/7. In the second innings, it was all Bohara’s exceptional performance. He came out to bowl as first-change and took 6/11 in just 3.4 overs. With this, he became the first Nepali bowler to take a six-wicket haul in T20Is.
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9. Mustafizur Rahman – 6/10 vs USA in 2024
Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman is one of the few bowlers to take a six-wicket haul in ODIs and T20Is. His best T20I figure came against the USA at Grand Prairie Stadium, ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Rahman took his second fifer in the first innings and registered a figure of 6/10 to restrict USA for 104/9. In reply, Bangladesh made 108/0 in 11.4 overs to win by ten wickets. Rahman was named the Player of the Match.
8. JJ Smit – 6/10 vs Uganda in 2022
There are very limited matches when a player shows his full potential in all three departments in T20Is. One such match was recorded between Namibia and Uganda at Windhoek in April 2022. This was and will probably be the best game of JJ Smit’s entire career. He single-handedly won the game for Namibia. In the first inning, Namibia scored 185/7, with Smit scoring 71 off 35 balls, with four fours and seven sixes. In the second innings, he took the first and last wicket, and ended up with 6/10. Smit also took two catches and made history.
7. Moazzam Baig – 6/9 vs Rwanda in 2023
There are some bowling spells where there is not much difference between runs and wickets. Like this one. In a game between Malawi and Rwanda during the ACA Cup 2023 at Benoni, Moazzam Baig registers as one of the best bowling figures in T20I history. Batting first, Malawi scored 135/7 in 20 overs. Rwanda had a collapse against Baig and scored only 89/9. The Malawi captain took 6/9 in four overs. Ten out of 11 Rwanda’s batters scored in single digits.
6. Ajantha Mendis – 6/8 vs Zimbabwe in 2012
Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis had an incredible start to this international career. He holds the record for the best bowling figure in the T20 World Cup. This was the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka. This was the opening game of the tournament between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at Hambantota. Sri Lanka scored a challenging score of 182/4 in the first innings. In reply, Zimbabwe were bowled out for just 100 runs, courtesy of Mendis’s incredible spell. He took 6/8 in his four overs, including two maidens to script history.
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5. Dinesh Nakrani – 6/7 vs Lesotho in 2021
Not many fans might know about Dinesh Nakrani, but he is the prime cricketer from Uganda that played in the T20 World Cup 2024. Dinesh has registered one of the best bowling figures in T20I history. It came against Lesotho during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group A at Kigali. He took 6/7 in the first inning to dismiss Lesotho for just 23 runs in 12.4 overs. Uganda made 27/0 in 3.4 overs to win the game by ten wickets.
4. Deepak Chahar – 6/7 vs Bangladesh in 2019
The best bowling figure in T20i for India is registered under the name of Deepak Chahar. He had it against Bangladesh in November 2019 in Nagpur. India posted a score of 174/5 in the first innings with Shreyas Iyer scoring 62 off 33 and KL Rahul making 52 off 35. In reply, Deepak Chahar started with the opening wicket and also took the final wicket in the innings. He finished with a magical figure of 6/7, and Bangladesh managed 144 runs to lose by 30 runs.
3. Peter Aho 6/5 vs Sierra Leone in 2021
Nigeria’s Peter Aho holds the record for the third-best bowling figure in T20I history. He had this moment in a game against Sierra Leone in October 2021 at Lagos. It was a low-scoring game as Nigeria got all out for just 90 runs in the first innings. But their bowlers bowled even in better line and bowled Sierra Leone out for just 71 runs to win by 19 runs. Peter Aho took six wickets by giving just five runs to register his name in the record books.
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2. Harsha Bharadwaj – 6/3 vs Mongolia in 2024
Mongolia hold the unwanted record for the lowest total in T20I history. They were bowled out for just ten runs against Singapore most recently on September 5, 2024, at Bangi. The whole team got all-out for ten runs, and it was largely because of an excellent figure by an Indian-origin 17-year-old spinner of 6/3 in four overs, including two maidens. In the second innings, Singapore did the formality and made 13/1 in 0.5 overs to win the game. Though this is the second-best bowling figure in T20I history, but this is one of the most economical figures in a T20I as well.
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1. Syazrul Idrus – 7/8 vs China in 2023
The popularity of T20I cricket has helped this format grow globally. That is why one can see new teams getting recognition in this sport. Hence, we have our No. 1 on this list from a game between two associate nations: China and Malaysia. This was the game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia B Qualifier 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. Syazrul Idrus from Malaysia became the first ever bowler to take seven wickets in an innings in T20is. He took 7/8 against China to register the best bowling figure in T20I history. China were all out for 23 runs, and Malaysia made 24/2 to win by 8 wickets. Will this record be broken in the future? It looks difficult, but you never know in this sport.
