Bhutan's Sonam Yeshey scripts history with record eight-wicket haul in T20Is

Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey registered his name in history books by achieving a feat never seen before in the history of the T20 format. The 22-year-old left-arm spinner became the first bowler, across men’s and women’s cricket, international or domestic, to claim eight wickets in a single T20 match. His historic spell came during the third T20I against Myanmar in Gelephu.

The performance occurred in a one-sided contest where Bhutan posted 127 for 9 before dismantling Myanmar for a mere 45 runs in 9.2 overs. Yeshey was the architect of the collapse, returning with figures of 8 for 7 from his four overs. Before this, the best bowling figures in men’s T20Is stood at seven wickets, achieved by Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus and Bahrain’s Ali Dawood. In women’s T20Is, Indonesia’s Rohmalia held the record with 7 for 0. 

Yeshey ran through Myanmar’s batting lineup after the hosts lost early wickets in the powerplay. Although Pyae Phyo Wai scored 10 off 11 balls, any hope of recovery was quashed by Yeshey’s relentless spell. He accounted for seven of the last eight dismissals.

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His spell included a maiden over and conceded just seven runs across four overs. Meanwhile, making his T20I debut in July 2022 against Malaysia, he impressed immediately with figures of 3 for 16. While wickets did not come at the same pace in subsequent games, this historic spell has taken his tally to 37 wickets from 34 T20Is. The series itself has been heavily tilted in Bhutan’s favour, with Yeshey leading the bowling charts with 12 wickets from four matches, with one game remaining.