Wanindu Hasaranga becomes second-fastest bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets
Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga became the second-fastest bowler to accomplish 100 T20I wickets. He accomplished the mark with his first scalp in the second T20I against Afghanistan in Dambulla. While the leg-spinner overall became the 11th bowler to complete 100 T20I scalps, he is the second Lankan player to get this feat. He returned with 2/19 as Sri Lanka won by 72 runs.
Second-fastest to the mark
While Hasaranga took just 63 games to complete a century of T20I wickets, only Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (53) has reached the milestone in fewer matches. Meanwhile, Hasaranga piped Ireland pacer Mark Adair at the second place. The latter took 72 games. Among SL players, the youngster is only behind Lasith Malinga (107) in terms of T20I scalps.
Decoding his T20I numbers
His economy of 6.78 is only second to Ajantha Mendis (6.45) among SL bowlers with 50-plus T20I wickets. His average (15.36) is the fifth-best among bowlers with at least 50 T20I scalps. Hasaranga's tally includes three four-wicket hauls (BBI: 4/9). The spinner has 30, 31, and 40 wickets at home, away (opposition's home) and neutral venues respectively. He has seven scalps versus Afghanistan.
Hasaranga picked up two crucial wickets
When Hasaranga was introduced, Afghanistan were already in the doldrums. However, the Lanka spinner tightened the screws and returned with two big wickets of Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat. Najibullah was knocked over by Hasaranga while Janat was caught at extra cover.
Most wickets since debut
His tally of 101 wickets is the most for a bowler since his debut in T20Is in September 2019. Ireland's Adair is narrowly behind him with 98 wickets in this regard. No other SL bowler has claimed even 45 wickets in this period. His economy of around 6.6 is the best among full-member team bowlers with at least 50 T20I wickets since 2021.
His brilliance in T20 WCs
Hasaranga has taken part in two editions of the ICC T20 World Cup so far (2021 and 2022). He finished both events as the highest wicket-taker. While he claimed 16 wickets across eight games at 9.75 in the 2021 competition, the leg-spinner returned with 15 wickets in eight matches in the 2022 tournament at 13.27.
A look at his T20I numbers
Playing his 63rd T20I, Hasaranga raced to 101 wickets at an impressive average of 15.36. The leg-spinner owns an exceptional economy rate of 6.78. He has returned with three four-wicket hauls in this format. Hasaranga's best figures of 4/9 came against India in 2021. With the bat, Hasaranga has compiled 622 runs at a strike rate of 131.22. He has slammed two fifties.
Here's the match summary
Sri Lanka were off to a good start before they were derailed in the middle overs. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Angelo Mathews played crucial knocks while adding 66 runs together. This helped SL reach a decent total of 187/6. Mohammad Nabi starred with 2/25. In reply, Afghanistan never got going and were bundled out for only 115. Mathews returned with 2/9 from his two overs.
