Published: Jul 26, 2023, 10:42 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 26, 2023, 11:15 AM (IST)
MALAYSIA pacer Syazrul Idrus created history by picking up seven wickets in a T20I match. The bowler achieved this feat while playing against China in Kuala Lumpur during the opening game of the T20 World Cup Asia B Qualifier.
Idrus made his first-class debut for Pahang in the 2016–17 Malaysia Cricket League. He has also played for the Kuala Lumpur Cricket Club in the Malaysia Premier League.
In 2018, Idrus was selected for the Malaysia national team for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe. He played in three matches, scoring 15 runs and taking one wicket.
Malaysia beat China by eight wickets in the series opener on Wednesday, July 26. The Malaysian bowlers bundled out the opposition for just 23 runs in 11.2 overs. Wei Guolei top-scored with seven runs, while none of the other batters crossed the five-run mark.
Frederique Overdijk of the Netherlands, however, holds the best bowling figures — male and female — in a T20I with her 7 wickets for 3 runs against France in 2021.
A total of 12 bowlers had previously claimed six-wicket hauls in a men’s T20I — including Chahar and another Indian Yuzvendra Chahal, Australia spinner Ashton Agar and Sri Lanka tweaker Ajantha Mendis — but an elusive seven-wicket haul had never been recorded until Idrus’ amazing effort.
Electing to bat first, China were all out for just 23 runs in 11.2 overs with none of their batters scoring in double digits with Idrus single-handedly ripping through the batting line-up. Opener Wei Guo Lei was the top scorer with 7. Six Chinese batters were out for nought.
Malaysia chased down the target in 4.5 overs, reaching 24 for 2.
The winner of this tournament will progress to the Asia Regional Final in Nepal in November, with the two leading teams from that event then making it through to the T20 World Cup in 2024.
