Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar is the only pitcher to bowl four no-out overs in a men’s T20I but it was the first time in a World Cup.
By ESPNcricinfo Staff
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson became just the second bowler in T20Is and the first to bowl four overs in a single sprint in the Men’s T20 World Cup.
On Monday, he recorded impressive figures of 4-4-0-3 against Papua New Guinea in New Zealand’s final group stage match of the T20 World Cup 2024. It was also New Zealand’s final game of the tournament, where they were eliminated after losses to Afghanistan and the West Indies.
The only other bowler to achieve the feat is Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar, who recorded figures of 4-4-0-2 against Panama in a T20 World Cup Americas regional qualifier match at Coolidge in 2021.
Coming in to bowl in the fifth over after a rain interruption with New Zealand deciding to field at Taluluva, Ferguson caught PNG captain Asad Vala at first slip with his first delivery. Ferguson silenced rookie batsman Cece Baugh for the rest of the overs and returned in the seventh over to do the same, bowling Baugh for six dots.
He returned to bowl in the 12th over and took the strike with his second ball, restricting Charles Amini to 17 with a low length ball that was not out but was confirmed to have hit the stumps after review. Ferguson then took his third and final wicket with the second ball of the final over, the 14th innings, when he edged a Chad Soper ball onto the stumps for one. PNG scored two runs in that over, but they were leg byes.
The match started after rain and New Zealand managed to restrict PNG to 78 in 19.4 overs.