#OTD in 2009: Umar Gul became the first bowler to take a fifer in T20Is

On this day in 2009, Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul became the first player to claim a fifer in the shortest format of the game. It all transpired in a group match between Pakistan and New Zealand in the second edition of the T20 World Cup at The Oval. 

Ahead of this fixture, Pakistan had lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs. Hence, they needed a win to stay in the hunt for the spots in the semi-finals. 

The Daniel Vettori-led side won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they had an average start with under 60 runs in 10 overs, with a loss of four wickets. The all-rounder Abdul Razzaq was making a comeback to international cricket in this game after two years and picked crucial wickets of Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. 

In the 13th over, Gul was brought into the attack by the Pakistan captain Younis Khan, wherein the Kiwi team were at 72/4. 

On the first ball, wicket-keeper Peter McGlashan tried to slog over the mid-wicket but was nowhere close to the ball. The next ball witnessed him taking a single. In the third ball, experienced Scott Styris (22) attempted to hit a long ball but was caught by Shahid Afridi. 

The subsequent ball saw Gul yorked McGlashan (8) and dismissed him in an LBW dismissal, which left New Zealand reeling at 73/6. 

In the 16th over, he was at his finest to breach the defence of Nathan McCullum (7) and knocked him over with a pearler.

The talented pacer came to deliver the 18th over and again delivered a perfect yorker to dismiss James Franklin (7). He followed it up by inducing a leading edge of Kyle Mills (0) in the next ball, which was caught at silly mid-off by debutant Shahzaib Hasan. Then Vettori was run-out, and New Zealand were dismissed for a score of 99. 

In three overs, Gul finished with his career-best T20I figures of 5/6 and became the first player to complete a fifer in this format. 

Chasing a paltry score of 100, Kamran Akmal (19) and Shahzaib (35) provided a good start to the team. In the middle-order, Shahid Afridi remained unbeaten on 29 off 18 to chase down the total in 13.1 overs and help Pakistan win by six wickets. 

After this fixture, Younis Khan-led secured a victory over the Ireland team by 39 runs to reach the semi-finals. 

They won by seven runs against South Africa in the penultimate stage. Then, Pakistan claimed their first T20 World Cup trophy after beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets.