Three bowlers who delivered sensational T20I performances on their birthday
Whenever a cricketer plays a match for his nation, he wants to give his best and help the team win. However, many times we have seen players doing extremely well on some special occasions. In this article, we will be discussing those bowlers who registered exceptional figures on their birthday in T20I cricket.
3) Yuvraj Singh – 3/23 v Sri Lanka, 2009
This was during the second T20I of the two-match series between India and Sri Lanka in 2009. In the T20I played in Mohali, Yuvraj Singh shone with both bat and ball. Batting first, the visitors scored 206/7 in 20 overs with the help of a half-century from Kumar Sangakkara. For India, Birthday-Boy Yuvraj Singh took 3 wickets for 23 runs in his 3 overs. Chasing this total, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh played brilliant knocks to ensure a win. India won this match by 6 wickets with five balls to spare. Yuvraj smashed 60 runs off only 25 balls and was adjudged as the player of the match.
2) Imran Tahir – 4/21 vs Netherlands, 2014
Imran Tahir gave a superb performance on his birthday in the T20 World Cup 2014. In the Group stage match, South Africa posted a total of 145/9 in 20 overs. In response to this, Netherlands were dismissed for 139 runs in 18.4 overs. For South Africa, Imran Tahir picked up 4 wickets for 21 runs in his 4 overs. Netherland were once cruising to a victory with a score of 97/3 in 10.2 overs. However, the team soon collapsed and lost by 6 runs. Tahir was chosen as the player of the match for his fine spell.
1) Wanindu Hasaranga – 4/9 vs India, 2021
In the recently completed T20I series, Wanindu Hasaranga turned out to be a big mystery for the Indian batting line-up. In the third T20I, Hasaranga took 4 wickets for 9 runs in his 4 overs on his birthday. The Indian team could manage only a total of 81/8 batting first in the game. During the chase, the hosts registered a seven-wicket victory with 33 balls to spare. Sri Lanka won this series 2-1, and Hasaranga won the player of the match as well as the player of the series award.
