Veteran India pacer Jasprit Bumrah added a feather to his cap after he became the country’s top wicket-taker in T20 World Cups.
Bumrah achieved the feat during India’s Super 8 match against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The Gujarat speedster, who registered figures of 3/15 against the Proteas, now has 33 wickets in T20 World Cups.
Jasprit Bumrah breaks Ravichandran Ashwin’s record
By doing so, Bumrah broke the record of former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who had finished his career with 32 T20 World Cup wickets.
Arshdeep Singh, who is also part of India’s current T20 World Cup squad, has 32 wickets, which means Bumrah’s record is only temporary.
Bumrah has played 91 T20Is for India since making his debut in 2016, and has taken 114 wickets. He was part of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup title, and finished that tournament with 15 wickets from eight matches.
Coming to Sunday’s match, South Africa won the toss and asked India to field first. Bumrah first got rid of Quinton de Kock in the fifth ball of his first over, and followed it up with the dismissal of Ryan Rickelton in his second over.
Rickelton was early to play his lofted shot, but ended up holing it out to Shivam Dube at mid-off. The 32-year-old struck again late in South Africa’s innings to dismiss Corbin Bosch.
It was a yorker ball on middle and off, and Bosch could only chip it towards Bumrah himself, who took the catch. The umpires though, weren’t convinced, and the decision was sent to the TV umpire. Replays showed that the ball pitched, then hit Bosch’s bat and popped to Bumrah, who made no mistake with the catch.
Apart from Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh (2/28), Varun Chakravarthy (1/47) and Shivam Dube (1/32) were the other wicket-takers as South Africa registered a total of 187/7.
David Miller, who scored 63 runs, was the top run-getter for the Proteas, whereas Dewald Brevis (45) and Tristan Stubbs (44*) also made valuable contributions.
India eventually suffered a 76-run loss to South Africa in their Super 8 opener on Sunday. The Men in Blue were all out for just 111 in 18.5 overs. Shivam Dube was the top-scorer for India with 42 runs. Marco Jansen, with figures of 4/22 was the pick of the South African bowlers.
India will next face Zimbabwe in Chennai on 26 February, and will be looking to get back to winning ways.
