Jasprit Bumrah scripted history as he picked up his 100th wicket for India in the shortest format during the first T20I against South Africa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9. The right-arm pacer became just the second Indian bowler to bag 100 wickets in T20Is. Arshdeep Singh, who also played the game, picked up his 100th T20I wicket during the Asia Cup 2025 fixture against Oman.
Talking about Bumrah, he entered the T20I series against South Africa with 99 wickets in the format
in 80 matches. After India set the Proteas a target of 176 on a spicy pitch, Bumrah and Arshdeep wreaked havoc with the new ball. While the latter bagged two wickets in his first two overs, the veteran had to wait till the 11th over to pick up his 100th scalp.
Bumrah sent Dewald Brevis packing, with Suryakumar Yadav taking the catch. Later in his spell, he got the better of Keshav Maharaj. The Mumbai Indians' pacer finished with brilliant figures of 2/17 in three overs.
Bumrah is now only the fifth bowler in world cricket to reach 100 wickets in each of the three international formats, joining Tim Southee, Lasith Malinga, Shakib Al Hasan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The Ahmedabad-born has picked up 234 wickets from 52 Tests, 149 wickets from 89 ODIs, and 101 wickets from 81 T20Is. He is closing in on Arshdeep's record of 107 T20 wickets. However, the left-arm pacer has only featured in 69 T20Is so far.
Apart from Bumrah and Arshdeep, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel also bagged two wickets apiece for the Men in Blue. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube also picked up one wicket apiece as the Proteas were bowled out 74 in pursuit of their 176-run target.
The second T20I is set to be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Thursday, December 11. India lead the series 1-0 and will want to double their advantage later this week.
