Arshdeep Singh creates history, becomes first Indian bowler to achieve this T20I feat with fifer vs NZ

India pacer Arshdeep Singh bowled a phenomenal spell against New Zealand in the fourth T20I and recorded figures of 5/51 in his quota of four overs. He proved to be the side's top performer in the bowling department as they bundled out New Zealand for 225 runs after handing them a target of 272.

Arshdeep's expensive but special spell

Despite turning out to be expensive on the day, Arshdeep played a key role in India's victory by clinching wickets of the likes of Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner and Kyle Jamieson. This was the 26-year-old's first-ever five-wicket haul in the format as  he went on to register his career-best figures.

The fifer saw Arshdeep become the first Indian bowler to rack up 50 or more wickets in the powerplay in the shortest format. The wickets also saw him reach third on the all-time list, only behind Tim Southee and Shaheen Afridi.

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Players with the most wickets in powerplay in T20Is -

1. Tim Southee (New Zealand) - 58 wickets

2. Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) - 55 wickets

3. Arshdeep Singh (India) - 50 wickets

4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India) - 47 wickets

5. Josh Hazlewood (Australia) - 46 wickets

The five-wicket haul also saw Arshdeep become the Indian bowler to record the best figures against New Zealand in T20Is. Deepak Hooda was the previous holder of the record after he recorded figures of 4/10 against the Kiwis in 2022.

Best bowling figures for India against New Zealand in T20Is -

1. Arshdeep Singh - 5/51, 2026

2. Deepak Hooda - 4/10, 2022

3. Hardik Pandya - 4/16, 2023

4. Mohammed Siraj - 4/17, 2022

India gear up for the T20 World Cup

Arshdeep finished the T20I series with eight scalps from four matches. He was one of India's top performers in the bowling department and will be looking to continue this form in the T20 World Cup that is set to commence from February 7. India have been drawn in Group A alongside Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan and USA. They will begin their campaign with the clash against USA on February 7 at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

India's squad for T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh