Top 3 bowlers in T20I wins

Since the inception of limited-overs cricket, majority of rules have favored the batting side which made it increasingly difficult for bowlers to pick wickets. No matter how many runs a team scores in a match, it is the bowlers who have to back them by picking up wickets or by restricting the flow of runs.

Several cricketers who performed brilliantly in the franchise based T20 tournaments across the globe, have failed to replicate their performances at the international arena. The bowlers who feature in this list, have played umpteen number of matches and had the skills to make it big at the biggest stage.

Let's have a look at the top 3 bowlers in T20I wins for their respective countries.

3. Umar Gul - 59 wickets

Umar Gul made his debut for the Pakistani T20 side against Kenya at Nairobi on 4th Sep 2007. Though he failed to pick up a wicket in that game, he raised his standards in the forthcoming games and became one of the most reliable bowlers for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game.

Gul was one of the chief contributors for Pakistan's dominance in T20 cricket between 2007 and 2009. His best bowling figures came during this period, when he picked up 5 wickets for 6 runs in a World Cup game against New Zealand.

Accuracy being his forte, he destroyed oppositions with his variations and toe crushing yorkers which enabled him to pick up 85 wickets in the 60 games he has represented his country.

Pakistan has won 34 of the 60 games he was part of. In those games, he has bowled 114.4 overs, conceding 688 runs and picked up 59 wickets at an average of 11.66 including 3 four-wicket hauls and 2 five-wicket hauls.

He was also the leading wicket-taker in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 with 13 wickets.

With several young fast bowlers coming up the ranks, Umar Gul has found it difficult to establish his place in recent times.

2. Lasith Malinga - 62 wickets.

Lasith Malinga is one of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever come out of Sri Lanka, especially in the shorter formats of the game. His round-arm action and subtle variations made it increasingly difficult for the batsman to pick him, enabling him to pick many wickets and help his side to victories.

Sri Lanka won 40 of the 68 games he was part of. During that period, he bowled 137.3 overs, conceding 929 runs and picked up 62 wickets at an average of 14.98 including a five-wicket haul.

Incidentally, he was also the captain of the Sri Lankan side which lifted the T20 World Cup in 2014. Needless to say, he is the leading wicket-taker for the island nation in the shortest format of the game with 90 wickets.

Of late, Malinga has not been able to replicate his performances with the ball and has struggled to retain a place in the Sri Lankan squad.

3. Shahid Afridi - 66 wickets

Shahid Afridi was not the authentic leg-break bowler who could create magic from the surface like Shane Warne, but his deceptive variations made him a difficult bowler to get away with. He featured in 98 T20 internationals for Pakistan between 2006 and 2016.

His all-round performance earned him the Player of the series award in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, when he finished with 12 wickets in the tournament.

Pakistan won 56 of the 98 games he was part of. During that period, he bowled 210.2 overs, conceding 1314 runs and picked up 66 wickets at an average of 19.90 including 3 four-wicket hauls.

Shahid Afridi was also instrumental in Pakistan's World T20 victory in 2009, earning the Man of the Match in the semi-final as well as the final.

The stats and figures are accurate as on 5th January 2018.