Who took the first 5-fer of every T20 league?

T20 leagues have emerged as one of the most popular formats of cricket in recent years. Following the birth of the Indian Premier League, almost every nation has introduced its own T20 league. The Big Bash League, SA20, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, International League T20, and Lanka Premier League are among the top leagues in the world.

Unlike Test cricket and ODIs, a bowler does not have enough chances to take a five-wicket haul in T20 matches. The reason behind it is that a bowler can bowl only a maximum of 24 deliveries in T20 matches, which is why it is very difficult for them to complete a five-wicket haul.

Still, quite a few bowlers have managed to accomplish the feat, and here's a list of the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in every league.

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#1 IPL - Sohail Tanvir

Rajasthan Royals (RR) fast bowler Sohail Tanvir was the first to take five or more wickets in an IPL innings in 2008. The left-arm pacer bowled a miraculous spell of 6/14 in a league-stage match against the Chennai Super Kings.

Playing at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Tanvir bagged the wickets of Parthiv Patel, Stephen Fleming, S Vidyut, Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Makhaya Ntini to complete his six-wicket haul. RR won that match by eight wickets.

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#2 SA20 - Roelof van der Merwe

SA20 started earlier this month, with the inaugural edition of the league currently underway in South Africa. Yesterday evening during a match between the SunRisers Eastern Cape (SEC) and Durban's Super Giants (DSG), Roelof van der Merwe became the first player to take a five-wicket haul in South Africa's new T20 league.

Playing for SEC, Van der Merwe bowled a match-winning spell of 6/20 to help the Orange Army secure a 124-run win against DSG.

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#3 BBL - Lasith Malinga

Big Bash League - Stars v Strikers (Image: Getty)

Former Sri Lankan captain Lasith Malinga recorded the first-ever five-wicket haul in Australia's T20 league, the Big Bash League (BBL). Playing for the Melbourne Stars in the second season of the BBL, Malinga bowled a dream spell of 6/7 against the Perth Scorchers.

His victims were Marcus North, Marcus Stoinis, Hilton Cartwright, Tom Triffitt, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Joe Mennie.

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#4 PSL - Ravi Bopara

It may surprise a few fans, but England all-rounder Ravi Bopara was the first player to take a five-wicket haul in Pakistan's T20 league, the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Bopara achieved the feat while playing for the Karachi Kings against the Lahore Qalandars in the first PSL season.

The medium-pace bowling all-rounder scalped the wickets of Chris Gayle, Umar Akmal, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Rizwan, Hammad Azam, and Naved Yasin in his spell of 6/16.

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#5 Lanka Premier League - Mohammad Amir

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir bagged the maiden five-wicket haul in Sri Lanka's T20 league, the Lanka Premier League (LPL). During the first season of the LPL in 2020, Amir bowled a spell of 5/26 for the Galle Gladiators against the Colombo Kings.

His five victims were Dinesh Chandimal, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Thikshila de Silva, Isuru Udana, and Qais Ahmad.

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#6 Caribbean Premier League - Shakib Al Hasan

Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents - 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) (Image: Getty)

Not many fans will remember that the first two five-wicket hauls of the Caribbean Premier League came in the same match in the inaugural season of the league. Barbados Tridents spinner Shakib Al Hasan returned with figures of 6/6 against Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.

Later in the same match, Red Steel's fast bowler Fidel Edwards bowled a spell of 5/22, but the record for the first five-wicket haul belongs to Shakib.