Umar Gul's fifer in T20 World Cup 2009 (Source: @ShaheensBrigade/x.com)
If adrenaline goes high with every boundary and over-boundaries, some deadly bowling, unusual spells, and some quirky dismissals raise the thrill just as high. Unlike the red-ball game that rewards patience, T20 gives bowlers only one shot to shine, or crash, in a ruthless, blink-and-miss battle.
The arrival of the shortest format was an explosion, and the T20 World Cup was a revolution. The big stage saw some clinical bowling show, but very few came even a little close to Umar Gul’s brilliance in 2009. His jaw-dropping five-for against New Zealand remains one of the most iconic spells the format has ever seen.
Kiwis under fire as Pakistan bowlers bring the heat from ball one
Every time two teams walk on the big stage of the T20I format, fans take an extra sip of excitement as thrills touch the sky. Since the T20 World Cup was introduced in 2007, the cricket world has seen drama in 22 yards.
But when the second edition arrived, the intensity only multiplied. And among all the chaos and thrill, nothing quite matched the explosive face-off between New Zealand and Pakistan.
Facing each other in the 18th match of the tournament, New Zealand walked out to bat first and faced a nightmare on the surface. As Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond opened the innings, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Amir unleashed havoc, ripping through the top order. Within no time, the Kiwis were left reeling at a shocking 55/4.
The Gul-storm hits Oval as New Zealand crumble like dust
The Pakistani bowlers were on fire on that day, but the best version of the firestorm was yet to be unleashed. Coming to action in the 13th over, Umar Gul emerged as the newest nightmare for the Kiwis as he made his first mark, removing Scott Styris in 22 runs.
Before the Kiwis could even recover, Gul cranked up the heat and removed Peter McGlashan on the very next ball. Those consecutive blows deepened New Zealand’s woes but Umar Gul had much more to deliver. Coming back to bowl in the 16th over, he removed James Franklin in an outstanding delivery.
Gul had already sealed a stunning four-wicket haul, but just when the world thought he was at his peak, he took it a step further and stamped the night with his name. In the very next delivery, he removed Kyle Mills on a golden duck and registered a remarkable fifer.
A spell for the ages
On that day, he bowled three overs, conceded just six runs, and secured a stunning five-wicket haul with an unreal economy rate of 2.00. Restricting the Kiwis to just 99, Pakistan registered a dominating six-wicket victory. But the biggest highlight of the game was Umar Gul’s outstanding bowling.
As the other Pakistani bowlers gave the perfect start to the innings, Gul’s brilliance took that to a different level. With that fifer, he just didn’t secure Pakistan’s victory; he rewrote the T20I history. Years passed in the tournament, but his remarkable bowling spell remained the third best in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup.
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