Spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma has become the first Indian to take 100 or more wickets in T20Is (male or female). Deepti reached the milestone in the last over of West Indies’ innings at Newlands, Cape Town in ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.
Deepti turned out to be the standout bowler for India against the 2016 T20 World Champions. She conceded just 15 runs from her quota of four overs and took three wickets. Her wickets included opener Stafanie Taylor (42), Shemaine Campbelle (30) and Afy Fletcher (0).
During the three-wicket haul, Deepti also surpassed leg-spinner Poonam Yadav who has 98 wickets from 72 T20Is. Deepti achieved the milestone in her 89th T20I. Her fantastic bowling display helped Harmanpreet Kaur-led India restrict West Indies for 118/6 after skipper Hayley Matthews won the toss and opted to bat first.
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The 25-year-old became the ninth bowler in women's T20I to take 100 wickets. In men's T20Is, India's highest wicket-takers are Yuzvendral Chahal who has 91 wickets from 75 games.
The top spot in women's T20Is is occupied by West Indies pacer Anisa Mohammed who has 125 wickets from 117 T20Is. As Mohammed has taken a break from international cricket, Pakistan's Nidar Dar (121 wickets), Australia's Ellyse Perry (120 and Megan Schutt (117), South Africa's Shabnim Ismail (117) have a chance to move up the ladder during women's T20 World Cup 2023.
Earlier this week, Deepti's services were roped in UP Warriorz for Rs 2.6 crore in inaugural Women Premier League (WPL) Auction. She turned out to be the second-most expensive Indian player in WPL after Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Smriti Mandhana who went for Rs 3.4 crore. Deepti is likely to lead UP Warriorz next month.
Deepti has been a regular in the T20I side. She is also India's highest-ranked T20I all-rounder in ICC women's T20I Player Rankings. Deepti is placed second with 402 rating points, second only to Australia's star all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner who recently became the most expensive overseas player at Rs 3.2 crore in WPL Auction.
