Stats: Best bowling figures by an Indian in T20Is

Ravichandran Ashwin was the chief architect of India’s series win yesterday. He bowled a magnificent spell of spin bowling and returned with the figure of 4/8 in the third T20I against Sri Lanka at Vizag. This happens to be the best bowling figures by an Indian in T20Is. His spell proved to be fatal for the visiting team as they bundled out for just 82 runs after he single-handedly dismantled the order completely within a matter of three overs. Ashwin was rewarded with the “Man of the Match” and “Man of the Series” awards for his brilliant performance. Factually, Ashwin, who has been a top performer for India in recent times, features three times in the top ten list.

The previous best also belonged to the ace off-spinner which he achieved almost two years ago against Australia at Dhaka during the 2014 World T20. The Aussies also met with a similar fate in that match as they folded for just 86 runs in reply to India’s decent target of 160. He was adjudged as the “Man of the Match” after that game too.

Ashwin also finds himself second last on the list with his figures of 3/14 which got against Sri Lanka in the second T20I at Ranchi which preceded the Vizag game.

Others following him in the top five are Harbhajan Singh (4/12 against England in 2012), RP Singh (4/13 against South Africa in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup) and Zaheer Khan (4/19 against Ireland at Nottingham in 2009).

The bottom five consists of Ashok Dinda (4/19 against Sri Lanka in 2012), Pragyan Ojha (4/21 against Bangladesh at Nottingham), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/9 against Pakistan at Bangalore in 2012) and the last performance to feature in the list is special. Irfan Pathan who took 3/16 at Johannesburg during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 finals versus Pakistan. India eventually beat their rivals and lifted the inaugural trophy. Irfan was named as the “Man of the Match” for his performance.

Here is the table with the list of best bowling figures by an Indian in T20Is: