Most Expensive Over in T20I

T20 cricket is fun and entertainment. It’s the format that has popularised the game among the masses. T20 cricket has helped the game to flourish and spread its wings to different new territories. T20 cricket is fun because the format allows big hitting. 

Known as a format dominated by the batters due to the requirement of scoring at a good pace, there have been some big overs in the history of this popular format. Let’s have a look at some of the expensive overs and the bowlers at the helm of it.

Stuart Broad (36 vs India, 2007)

During the inaugural World T20, eventual champions India faced a strong England side and were 171/3 at the end of 18 overs against India. Senior allrounder Andrew Flintoff had an altercation with Indian left-hand batter Yuvraj Singh. Both the players had a heated argument which pumped the batter up. Stuart Broad bowling the penultimate over was then hit for six back-to-back sixes, a world record in T20 internationals. Yuvraj went on to score the fastest 50 in T20 history off just 12 balls. Co-incidentally, Yuvraj hadn’t hit a single six in the tournament before his assault in the 19th over.

Akila Dananjaya (36 vs West Indies, 2021)

Sri Lanka were playing West Indies at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua in the T20 series opener and scored 131/9 in their 20 overs. Chasing a low total, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard batting at number 5 smashed six sixes off mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya’s over. Before that over, Dananjaya had taken a hattrick in just the previous over dismissing Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran. He eventually finished with 3/62 and West Indies chased the target down with 4 wickets and 41 balls to spare.

Shivam Dube (34 vs New Zealand, 2020)

In the final T20I of a 5-match series in early 2020, between New Zealand and India, New Zealand were chasing 164 to win and were reeling behind at 64/3 after 9 overs. Shivam Dube was introduced as India’s sixth bowler in the 10th over. He was hit for a six by Tim Seifert on first 2 balls and for a boundary on the third, he conceded a single on the 4th delivery bringing Ross Taylor on strike.

Dube’s fifth ball was a front foot no ball on which Taylor milked a boundary towards midwicket and followed with a maximum in the same region on the free hit next ball. The final ball of the over was deposited in the same region for half a dozen runs.

Nasum Ahmed (34 vs Zimbabwe, 2022)

The home side Zimbabwe were batting first and struggling at 76/6 after 14 overs at Harare against Bangladesh. Nasum Ahmed previously bowled an economic over conceding 6 runs and taking a wicket. Nasum was thumped for 4 back-to-back sixes in the leg side by Ryan Burl making him bowl faster and wider outside off. The ploy didn’t work as Burl slogged that delivery for four more runs and finished the over off with a maximum over long-on. That over shifted the momentum towards Zimbabwe with the side scoring 156/8 and eventually winning both the match and the series.

Andile Phehlukwayo (33 vs England, 2022)

It was a run-fest at Bristol in the curtain raiser of the three-match T20I series between England and South Africa. England were 168/3 in 16 overs. Andile Phehlukwayo who had conceded 30 and taken a wicket in his 3 overs was bowling his final over of the spell. Facing him were Jonny Bairstow (60 off 40) and Moeen Ali (28 off 12).

Bairstow hit the first 2 balls for a maximum through the leg side. The 2nd hit was so clean it smashed someone’s car in the parking lot. Phehlukwayo tried to keep the ball away from the batter’s reach and fired a couple of wides in the process. The bowler almost tasted success on the 3rd ball but Reeza Hendricks dropped a simple catch allowing Moeen Ali to take strike. The southpaw smashed 3 sixes off the remainder of the over and closed out the innings with 20 sixes, an England record for most sixes in a T20I.

James Fuller (38 vs Sussex, 2012)

James Fuller has a miserable record of conceding 38 runs in a T20 innings playing for Gloucestershire. It occurred in the 2012 domestic T20 competition in England. While playing for Sussex, New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris hit 4 sixes and 2 fours off Fuller’s 3rd over of the spell and the inning’s 18th over. The first couple of boundaries were scored off no balls and due to 2 runs being awarded off no balls in England domestic cricket, Styris got 6 runs off them and despite bowling a dot ball, Fuller ended up conceding 38 in the over. 

Abdullah Mazari (37 vs Kabul Zwanan, 2018)

In the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League, the Kabul Zwanan side were chasing a mammoth total of 245. Abdullah Mazari was introduced in the 4th over of the innings against Afghanistan’s international batter Hazratullah Zazai who hit the first 2 balls of the over for a maximum, left the third one which was awarded as a wide and then hit the remaining four deliveries for sixes as well. Zazai equalled Chris Gayle and Yuvraj’s jointly held record of the fastest T20 fifty with Gayle batting at the other end.

Karl Carver (37 vs Worcestershire, 2017)

In England’s domestic T20 competition known as the T20 Blast, Yorkshire faced Worcestershire and set the latter a big target of 234. Skipper Tim Bresnan brought left-arm spinner Karl Craver in the attack who had gone for 10 runs in his previous over. Left-hand batter Ross Whiteley was on strike having scored 20 in 13 deliveries and smashed 4 consecutive sixes, the streak was broken by a wide delivery but Whiteley went on and hit 2 more maximums to end the over milking 37 off it. He fell for 65 in 26 balls and couldn’t take his team to win.

Prasanth Parameswaran (37 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2011)

In the 50th match of the 4th IPL season, the Kochi Tuskers Kerala visited Bengaluru but had a terrible time in the field as they batted first and managed to score just 125/9. Chasing a low total, attacking batters Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan got off to a flying start scoring 29 from the first 2 overs. 

Medium pacer Prasanth Parameswaran was then introduced in the attack and started his spell by conceding a six over point. The keeper stood up to the stumps but it did not affect Gayle who thrashed the next delivery, a no ball, for another biggie, followed it by 2 fours in different directions and cleared the fence a couple of times more in the over before finishing it all off with a four.