Watch: Sam Curran became the first England men’s bowler ever to take a T20I five-for in his side’s opening 2022 T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan.
The left-armer took his final four wickets in six balls as England bowled Afghanistan out for 112 in the second match of the Super 12 in Perth. No other bowler has taken five wickets in a T20I for England men, their previous best bowling figures belonging to Adil Rashid, who took 4-2 against the West Indies at the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Curran went wicketless in his first over in the match, coming onto bowl in the eighth over and conceding five runs to Ibrahim Zadran and Usman Ghani. He struck with the first ball in his following over, however, bowling a cutter delivery to Zadran who chipped the ball to Moeen Ali at extra-cover.
After he came back on to bowl for the 18th over in his new role at the death, the all-rounder conceded just three runs off his first four deliveries before he struck twice in consecutive balls to leave Afghanistan 109-7. Azmatullah Omarzai was the first to go, after he swung at a short, leg-stump delivery from Curran and perfectly picked out Ben Stokes in the deep for an easy catch. Rashid Khan was then sent back a ball later after trying to pull another short delivery on leg-stump from Curran, Hales taking an easy catch and Curran on a hat-trick on the first ball of his final over.
The hat-trick wasn’t to be with Curran missing his yorker to Usman Ghani, but the right-hander was dismissed the following ball, firing a short delivery straight to Liam Livingstone at deep-backward point. With four balls left and Curran needing just one more dismissal for a five-wicket haul, Afghanistan’s No.11 Fazalhaq Farooqi was on strike. On his fourth delivery of the over, Curran bowled the ball outside off. Opening the face of the bat, Farooqi sliced the ball straight to Dawid Malan behind square on the offside to give Curran his record figures.
It was an all-round brilliant display by England’s seamers to bowl Afghanistan out for 112. Stokes, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes were also all in the wickets. Curran’s form going into the tournament has been superb, he took his best figures prior to today’s match in England’s second T20I against Australia less than two weeks ago.
