Stats: New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi breaks into top three wicket-takers in men’s T20Is

New Zealand’s star leg-spinner Ish Sodhi shot up the list pertaining to the all-time wicket-takers in Men’s T20Is via an impressive performance on November 9. Sodhi’s three-wicket haul in Nelson, where he gave away just 34 runs in his four overs, helped significantly as the BlackCaps won the third T20I of the series against West Indies by nine runs.

The leg-spinner bowled a total of 13 dot deliveries throughout his spell. He picked up the wickets of Alick Athanaze (31 off 23), Rovman Powell (2 off 3) and Matthew Forde (4 off 5) in his second, third and fourth over, respectively.

Most wickets in Men’s T20Is

*as of November 10

After delivering a crucial spell for the Mitchell Santner-led side, Sodhi elaborated on the nature of the pitch and acknowledged that it was much more spin-friendly than expected. The 33-year-old was also happy that he could chip in with substantial performances after missing out on the Playing XI in the series-opening clash.

“Been nice to come in and contribute over the last couple of games. Always special playing here at Saxton Oval – the wicket’s probably a bit drier than what we’re used to, so there’s definitely a bit there for the spinners. You could see that today with us bowling ten overs of spin. I think it’s just about rhythm. You bowl ten-over spells in the Ford Trophy, get into that groove. In T20s here, especially early in the season, you can sometimes go two or three weeks without bowling in a game,” stated Sodhi during the post-match presentation.

New Zealand played the fourth match at the same venue today (November 10). Sodhi’s figures read 0/3 (0.3) in a contest which was washed out due to rain. The fifth and final match of the 20-over series is scheduled to be played on November 13 in Dunedin. The spotlight will then move forward to the three ODIs. A three-day tour match will be followed by a three-match Test series in December. With four matches played in the T20I series, New Zealand lead 2-1.