T20 World Cup: The T20 game is largely a batsman-dominating game. Batters get the licence to go and play their shots from the ball in this format. And with short boundaries and field restrictions, it is very hard for any bowler to restrict the batsman from scoring free runs. Sometimes the situation also makes the batter go hard after the bowler.
That puts a lot of pressure on the bowler and that results in conceding more than normal runs. However, every bowler has gone through a tough phase in their career. And there will always be a bad day when nothing goes in your way and you get smacked for plenty of runs. That happens to everyone. So in this article we will discuss some of the most expensive overs ever bowled in T20I World Cup history.
1. Stuart Broad (36 runs) against India in the T20 World Cup 2007 (6,6,6,6,6,6)
If you are a true Indian fan, you must remember this moment. This was one of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket history. This was the match between India and England in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa. After a good start from both openers, India struggled a bit in the middle overs. Yuvraj Singh, who struggled himself in earlier matches, came to bat in the last few overs.
But after that, the rest is history. Notably, an argument with Flintoff enraged Yuvraj, who smashed Stuart Broad to all parts of the ground in the very next over. Broad came out to bowl the 19th over, and that over became his nightmare. Yuvraj hit him for six consecutive sixes and helped India go past the 200-run mark. He also scored the fastest half-century in the T20 World Cup in 12 balls. Broad gave away 36 runs in that over and it is still the most expensive over ever bowled in an ICC event.
2. Izatullah Dawlatzai (32 runs) against England in the 2012 T20 World Cup (4,W,6+nb,1+nb,6,6,6,1)
This was the 6th fixture of the T20 World Cup in 2012 between England and Afghanistan at Colombo. After winning the toss, England opted to bat first. The English team had a good start, and their top order scored some quick runs. Izatullah Dawlatzai came out to bowl the 19th over of the match. The over started with a four from Buttler, but he got out in the very next ball, which brought Bairstow to the crease. Bairstow then smashed the next ball to six, which was a no-ball.
Dawlatzai bowled another no-ball on the next delivery, and Bairstow took a single to bring Luke Wright to the crease. Then the batter hit three back-to-back sixes off the next three balls to make it 31 runs. However, the last ball was hit for a single, and the over ended with 32 runs. This was the second most expensive over bowled in the T20I World Cup.
3. Bilawal Bhatti (30 runs) against Australia in the 2014 T20 World Cup (4,1,4,6,6,4+nb,4)
This was the 16th match of the 2014 World Cup between Australia and Pakistan at Mirpur. Batting first, the Men in Green posted a really good score of 191/5 in their 20 overs. Umar Akmal was the highest scorer with 95 runs. Chasing a big target, Australia lost their first two wickets for 8 runs. But after that, Maxwell and Finch added 118 runs for the third wicket and both got to their half-centuries, respectively.
Both batters are aggressive by nature, and that is the way they started. Bilawal Bhatti came out to bowl the 8th over and went for plenty. The over started with a boundary by Finch and a single on the second ball. But after that, Maxwell completely tore him apart. He hit the next four balls for two sixes and two fours. But on the last ball of the over, Bhatti bowled a no-ball which went for four as well, making this over a 30-run over. However, in the end, Australia fell short by 16 runs and were all out for 175.
Most Runs in an Over in T20 World Cup
| Batter | Runs | Bowler | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuvraj Singh (India) | 36 | Stuart Broad | England | 2007 |
| Jonny Baistow, Luke Wright (England) | 32 | Izatullah Dawlatzai | Afghanistan | 2012 |
| Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch (England) | 30 | Bilawal Bhatti | Pakistan | 2014 |
| Jehan Mubarak (Sri Lanka) | 29 | Lameck Onyango | Kenya | 2007 |
| AB de Villiers (South Africa) | 29 | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 2016 |
| David Hussey (Australia) | 27 | Mohammad Sami | Pakistan | 2010 |
| Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright (England) | 27 | Ravi Rampaul | West Indies | 2010 |
| AB de Villiers, David Miller (South Africa) | 26 | Jade Dernbach | England | 2014 |
| Chris Gayle (West Indies) | 26 | Brett Lee | Australia | 2009 |