India pacer Arshdeep Singh scripted history on Friday, October 30, by becoming the first Indian bowler to claim 150 wickets in T20I cricket. The left-arm pacer reached the milestone during the fourth T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland.
Arshdeep achieved the landmark by dismissing New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner on the final ball of the 19th over. Santner was caught by Nitish Kumar Reddy near the boundary after scoring six runs off five balls.
The 27-year-old has now taken 150 wickets in 103 T20I matches and 99 innings, at an average of 20.62 and an economy rate of 8.65. His best bowling figures in the format are 5/51.
Arshdeep Singh joins elite list of T20I bowlers
With this achievement, Arshdeep became the ninth bowler overall to take at least 150 wickets in men’s T20I cricket. He is also only the third fast bowler to reach the milestone, joining New Zealand’s Tim Southee and Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan leads the all-time list with 200 wickets, becoming the first bowler to reach the landmark on Thursday.
Arshdeep is also India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is. Jasprit Bumrah follows him with 126 wickets, while Axar Patel has taken 116 wickets in the format.
Arshdeep Singh sets another T20I record in 2026
The Indian pacer has also set a new benchmark for the most T20I wickets by a bowler representing a Full Member nation in a calendar year. With 40 wickets in 2026, he surpassed Ireland’s Josh Little, who claimed 39 wickets in 2022.
Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga took 38 wickets in 2024, while India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed 37 in 2022.
Arshdeep has also become the third-fastest bowler to reach 150 T20I wickets in terms of deliveries bowled, achieving the feat in 2,143 balls. Only Hasaranga, who took 2,035 balls, and Rashid Khan, who needed 2,098 balls, reached the milestone quicker.
Arshdeep claims one wicket as Glenn Phillips powers New Zealand
Arshdeep finished his four-over spell with figures of 1/38, conceding the fewest runs among the bowlers who completed their full quota of four overs.
However, Glenn Phillips dominated the first innings with a blistering 107 off 49 balls, helping New Zealand post a formidable total of 260 runs.
India had already secured the five-match series with a 3-0 lead going into the fourth T20I. The visitors will now look to extend their winning run and make it 4-0 despite the challenging target.
