A 21-year-old cricketer from Hong Kong, Ayush Shukla, made history by becoming only the third bowler to have delivered four consecutive maiden overs in a T20I match. It is also the first milestone for him as an Asian bowler.
His impressive bowling record was against Mongolia at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier during which his final figures were 4-4-0-1. He began with taking the new ball for Hong Kong just after which he did not allow any runs for four successive overs.
In getting off with a wicket-maiden he removed Bat-yalalt Namsrai; followed later by 18 successive dot deliveries that increased pressure on Mongolian batters incredibly much. Before Shukla’s performance only Saad Bin Zafar of Canada and Lockie Ferguson of New Zealand had bowled four consecutive maiden overs in one T20I game.
In 2021, Saad Bin Zafar managed this feat against Panama with figures reading 4-4-0-2 while Lockie Ferguson equaled it during T20 World Cup earlier this year having recorded similar statistics: 4-4-0-3 against Papua New Guinea.
Shukla’s stellar performance helped Hong Kong limit Mongolia to 17 runs
The standout performance of Shukla was an essential aspect of Hong Kong’s bowling unit carryout that was dominant, thereby restricting Mongolia to only 17 runs. Chasing after target set by the Mongolians, Hong Kong chased it effectively in just 1.4 overs winning the match by nine wickets.
Ayush Shukla’s spell that broke records is a notable achievement, which marks a proud moment for Hong Kong cricket and showcases his talent on the international stage.
The match between Hong Kong and Mongolia was not only memorable because of Shukla’s historic achievement, but also witnessed several other records as well. It featured one of the fastest chases in T20I history thereby showcasing Hong Kong’s batting prowess.
Moreover, Mongolia’s score was one of the lowest ever recorded in this format further emphasizing how dominant (s) they were throughout this game. Batting first, yuan skaters could only score 17 runs for 14 hours due to brilliant four-wicket haul from Ehsan Khan. Similarly, Hong Kong chased down such small amount without difficulty within mere 1.
This time, Ayush had earlier played 34 T20I matches. Across his career so far, he has taken 29 wickets at an outstanding economy rate of 8.62. His best bowling performance happened against Cambodia in 2023 when he took 3-1-3-1 figures.
