Jasprit Bumrah on top! Bowlers with most T20I wickets vs Australia

Aakash Saini

Most T20I wickets vs Australia [Source: @criccrazyjohns, @CatchOfThe40986/x, AFP]Most T20I wickets vs Australia [Source: @criccrazyjohns, @CatchOfThe40986/x, AFP]

Jasprit Bumrah raced past his teammate, two former Pakistani cricketers and a couple of New Zealand spinners to become the most successful T20I bowler in history against Australia, doing so through India’s recently-concluded five-match series. The speedster picked up three wickets in three innings of the series, which included a match-winning spell at the Carrara Oval.

Celebrating Jasprit Bumrah’s landmark moment, here is a look some of the most successful bowlers against Australia in T20I matches.

5. Adil Rashid (England) – 15 wickets

England spinner Adil Rashid has claimed 15 wickets in 13 innings spanning 14 T20Is against Australia. The cricketer holds a bowling average of 26.33 and an economy rate of 7.90 against them. Adil Rashid’s magnum opus T20I performance against Australia occurred during the series-deciding third match at the Rose Bowl in Southampton back in September 2020, where he dismissed Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith within a single spell to claim fighting figures of 3-21 in four overs.

4. Umar Gul (Pakistan) – 16 wickets

Former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul seemed to reserve some of his very best in T20Is against Australia. In 10 matches, the speedster trapped 16 Australian wickets at an impressive bowling average of just 14.06, considerably lower than his career T20I average of nearly 17. Umar Gul’s economy rate in T20Is against Australia, that of 6.19, also marked significantly better than his career T20I economy of 7.19 runs an over. Back in May 2009, Gul claimed four of those wickets in a single game at the Dubai International Stadium at an expense of just eight runs.

3. Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Axar Patel (India), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), Ish Sodhi (New Zealand) – 17 wickets

Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir, active Indian all-rounder Axar Patel and New Zealand enigma machines Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi have all claimed 17 wickets each against Australia in T20Is to be jointly ranked third on the list. While Amir has taken the list number of matches, 10, to take his 17 Australian wickets, it is India’s Axar Patel who holds the best bowling average, that of just 15.47 in 11 T20I innings.

Among the four aforementioned players, both New Zealand spinners, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi have secured a T20I four-wicket haul against Australia at some stage of their careers.

2. Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan) – 19 wickets

With 11 matches, Saeed Ajmal has played nearly a sixth of his career T20I games against Australia alone. Among all top eight teams he has turned up against for the Pakistan cricket team during his playing days, Ajmal averages the best against Australia, that of just 14.26. He also maintains a tight economy rate of just 6.40.

He has taken 19 wickets against them in 11 innings, with his best bowling figures being the 3-17 he collected in Colombo during the 2012 T20 World Cup.

1. Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 20 wickets

No other bowler in modern-day cricket has tormented the Australians across all three formats like India’s ace paceman Jasprit Bumrah. Apart from clipping 64 wickets in just 23 Test innings, 30 in 21 ODI innings, the legendary Indian fast bowler has secured 20 wickets in 17 T20I innings to accrue 114 wickets against Australia from just 61 innings in three formats combined at an exceptional bowling average of 22.85.

In T20Is alone, Jasprit Bumrah averages 24.15 in Australian games with an economy rate of 7.72. Back in February 2019 in Vizag, Bumrah delivered an enthralling spell of 3-16 in his four overs to record one of his best 20-overs performances against the Australian team.