For a bowler in T20 cricket, a dot ball off his bowling is considered a huge bonus, as the batters in this format are always on the lookout for runs. So as a bowler, one needs to find a way to stop the batter from scoring, which is incredibly hard.
They need pinpoint accuracy and mental courage to bowl in this format, so a maiden over in T20s is a Goldust. Bowling 6 dots in an over derails the momentum of the batting team and piles up the pressure, which in turn creates wicket-taking opportunities.
If bowling a single maiden over isn’t enough, some bowlers have delivered more than 1 maiden over in a single T20I inning. And we will list the top 10 instances of most maiden overs bowled by a bowler in a T20I innings.
Most Maiden Overs in a T20I Innings
Player | Maidens Bowled | Overs Bowled | Against | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saad Bin Zafar (CAN) | 4 | 4.0 | Panama | Coolidge | 14 Nov 2021 |
George Sesay (SLE) | 3 | 4.0 | Mali | Benoni | 9 Dec 2023 |
Nopphon Senamontree (THAI) | 3 | 4.0 | Maldives | Bangkok | 15 Feb 2024 |
Dewald Nel (SCOT) | 2 | 4.0 | Bermuda | Belfast | 3 Aug 2008 |
Raymond Price (ZIM) | 2 | 4.0 | Canada | King City | 13 Oct 2008 |
Shapoor Zadran (AFG) | 2 | 4.0 | Scotland | Abu Dhabi | 10 Feb 2010 |
Sulieman Benn (WI) | 2 | 4.0 | Zimbabwe | Port of Spain | 28 Feb 2010 |
Shaun Tait (AUS) | 2 | 4.0 | Bangladesh | Bridgetown | 5 May 2010 |
Ajantha Mendis (SL) | 2 | 4.0 | Zimbabwe | Hambantota | 18 Sep 2012 |
Graeme Swann (ENG) | 2 | 4.0 | Afghanistan | Colombo | 21 Sep 2012 |
Key Insights
Saad Bin Zafar of Canada is the only bowler to have sent out 4 maidens in a T20 international innings and didn’t concede a single run in any of his 4 allowed overs. He also has the second-best economy rate of 4.79 in T20Is, only behind his teammate Ramjani (4.74) in the format.
There are 6 other bowlers, including Nuwan Kulasekara, who didn’t concede a single run in their spell but bowled only 2 overs in the game.
George Sesay and Thailand’s Nopphon Senamontree are the other 2 bowlers who have bowled 2 or more maidens in a single T20I innings.
Frank Nsubuga, the left-arm spinner from Uganda, has bowled the most maidens in T20Is (15), and there are only 4 other bowlers who have bowled 10 or more maidens in their careers.