Hardik Pandya Becomes Third Indian Bowler To Reach 100 T20I Wickets

Seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya etched his name into the record books on Sunday by becoming the third Indian bowler to claim 100 wickets in men’s T20 Internationals. He reached the landmark during the ongoing match against South Africa at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.

Pandya entered the game with 99 wickets from 122 T20I matches, averaging 26.81 with an economy rate of 8.24. His best figures in the format remain 4 for 16, achieved against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2023. He made his T20I debut against Australia in Adelaide in January 2016.

The 32-year-old reached the 100-wicket mark by dismissing South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs in the seventh over. Stubbs attempted to steer a back-of-a-length delivery pitched outside the off stump towards third man, but only managed an edge that was safely collected by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma.

With this achievement, Pandya joined fellow pacers Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah in the 100-wicket club for India in men’s T20Is. Bumrah, who is unavailable for the Dharamsala match due to personal reasons, had reached the milestone earlier in the series opener at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack by dismissing Dewald Brevis.

Rare all-round record in T20Is

Pandya also holds a unique distinction among Indian cricketers. He is the first Indian men’s player and seam-bowling all-rounder to score more than 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. Previously, this double was achieved only by spin-bowling all-rounders — Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.

With the bat, Pandya has scored 1,939 runs at an average of 28.10 and a strike rate of 141.53. A member of India’s title-winning squad at the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, he has also become only the fourth men’s cricketer to complete the rare double of hitting 100 sixes while taking 100 wickets in the format. Before him, Mohammad Nabi, Sikandar Raza and Malaysia’s Virandeep Singh were the only players on that elite list.