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Mahmood became the first English player to bowl a triple wicket maiden and the first from any team to do so against India in T20 Internationals.
Saqib Mahmood dismissed Samson, Tilak and Surya in the same over (AP)
England pacer Saqib Mahmood created history, notching a super-rare triple-wicket maiden against India in the 4th T20I against India at Pune on Friday.
Mahmood, who was bowling the second over of the first innings, dismissed the likes of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav to achieve the historic feat.
For context, a “triple wicket maiden” refers to a single over where a bowler takes three wickets without conceding any runs, essentially bowling a maiden over while dismissing three batsmen in that over.
With his sizzling over, Mahmood became the first English player to bowl a triple wicket maiden and the first from any team to do so against India in T20 Internationals.
Mahmood achieving the feat in the 2nd over of the innings also equals the record for the earliest a bowler managed a triple wicket maiden in a T20I alongside Jerome Taylor, against SA in Gqeberha in 2007.
After having experienced a little taste of their own medicine in Rajkot this past Tuesday in a 26-run loss to the visitors, the onus was on IND skipper Suryakumar Yadav and co. to respond accordingly and try to seal the series tonight.
But, England would start the night off on a lucky note, winning the toss for the first time in this series and electing to bowl first.
With three changes made to the Indian side, including the first glimpses of Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh in this series, India looked set to take on the visitors and set the stage in Pune.
But, the hosts would be taken by surprise by England pacer Saqib Mahmood, who would strike immediately to remove both Sanju Samson with a shorter-ball that would result in the opener pulling one staight into the hands of Brydon Carse at sqaure-leg for a catch.
Next to fall was the in-form Tilak Varma, who would come down the gorund to swing wildly at Mahmood’s delivery, catching the thick edge as the ball flew towards Jofra Archer at third-man for another easy catch.
With the weight of expectation on the shoulders of skipper Surya, it was imperative for SKY to break his scoring slump and steer his team to safety.
But, disaster would strike again, as Mahmood would tempt the skipper into playing one right into the hands of Brydon Carse at covers for an easy catch, dismissing SKY for a duck and leaving India reeling at 13/3.
