T20 cricket can be funny sometimes. More often than not, you either go for runs or have a successful outing by plucking away wickets. On Saturday night in Thiruvananthapuram, Arshdeep Singh somehow did the latter while leaking plenty of the former and still walked away with history to his name.
Arshdeep finished with figures of 5 for 51, the most expensive five-wicket haul ever recorded in T20I cricket
Most expensive five-wicket hauls in T20I history
| Player | Figures | Opposition | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arshdeep Singh | 5/51 | New Zealand | Thiruvananthapuram | 2026 |
| Alzarri Joseph | 5/40 | South Africa | Johannesburg | 2023 |
| Lungi Ngidi | 5/39 | England | Bristol | 2022 |
Arshdeep’s night was anything but smooth. He went for 17 in his first over and 23 in his second as Finn Allen and Tim Seifert went after him without hesitation. For most bowlers, that would have meant being taken out of the attack. Instead, Arshdeep kept coming back and kept striking.
His burst in the middle overs flipped the chase. A settled Rachin Ravindra was removed, followed quickly by Mitchell Santner. Later, even after being hit again, Arshdeep returned to knock over Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson to complete his first T20I fifer. Wickets arrived in clusters, precisely when India needed breathing space.
