History was made at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday as Hong Kong pacer Ayush Shukla became only the third bowler in history—and the first Asian—to deliver four maiden overs in a T20I innings.
Before this match, Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar and New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson were the only bowlers to have completed a four-over spell in T20Is without conceding a single run.
Saad accomplished this against Panama in 2021, while Ferguson achieved the feat earlier this year during the T20 World Cup against Papua New Guinea, with figures of 4-4-0-3.
Facing Mongolia today, Shukla bowled four maiden overs and took a wicket, finishing with figures of 4-4-0-1, thus joining this exclusive club.
On the day, Shukla opened the bowling and delivered an unbroken four-over spell. He began with a wicket maiden, dismissing Bat-yalalt Namsrai, and then bowled 18 consecutive dot balls to etch his name in the record books.
Going into the match, the 21-year-old had played 34 T20Is, taking 29 wickets at an economy rate of 8.62. However, he had previously shown his potential in 2023 against Cambodia, where he bowled a spell of 3-1-3-1. Shukla also gained recognition in the 2022 Asia Cup when he famously dismissed India captain Rohit Sharma.
The match between Hong Kong and Mongolia also witnessed a couple of other records: the third-fastest chase in T20I history and the third-lowest total in T20Is.
