New Zealand leg spinner Ish Sodhi has broken a national record previously held by his former teammate and legendary pace bowler Tim Southee. Sodhi, who was born in Ludhiana, achieved the milestone while playing for New Zealand against Bangladesh in the ongoing T20I series.
New Zealand beat Bangladesh in third T20I
The third and deciding T20I of the series was played at Mirpur on May 2nd. With the first match won by the hosts and the second one abandoned, New Zealand needed to win this match to not go away with a series loss.
The Kiwis made proper use of the conditions to bowl out Bangladesh for just 104. Ben Sears and Nathan Smith took two wickets each, while Josh Clarkson took 3. Jayden Lennox and Ish Sodhi took one wicket each as well.
New Zealand got off to a decent start in terms of their run rate, but Shoriful Islam struck thrice in the powerplay to leave the visitors stuttering at 25/3. Bevon Jacobs then took charge with an unbeaten 62 from just 31 balls to ensure that New Zealand won the match, and the series was shared 1-1.
Ish Sodhi becomes New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is
In the T20I series against Bangladesh, Sodhi took 3 wickets from 2 matches. When he dismissed Shamim Hossain on Saturday, Sodhi broke the record for the most wickets by a New Zealander in T20Is.
Sodhi has been playing this format since 2014 and has 165 wickets in 142 matches. Tim Southee, who took 164 wickets in T20Is, is now second. Mitchell Santner, with 142, is the only other New Zealander to take 100 T20I wickets.
Most wickets for New Zealand in T20Is
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Econ. | 4+ w hauls |
| Ish Sodhi | 142 | 165 | 8.16 | 4 |
| Tim Southee | 126 | 164 | 8 | 4 |
| Mitchell Santner | 138 | 142 | 7.17 | 3 |
| Trent Boult | 61 | 83 | 7.68 | 2 |
| Lockie Ferguson | 54 | 76 | 7.33 | 3 |
Ish Sodhi is also the second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is
Apart from becoming New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker of all time in the shortest format, Sodhi has also become the second-highest wicket-taker of all-time from any country.
Only Rashid Khan with 193 T20I wickets, has more wickets than the Kiwi legspinner in this format. Sodhi will like to surpass the Afghan spinner in the shortest format of the game, and be at the top position.
Most wickets in T20Is
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Econ. | 4+ w hauls |
| Rashid Khan | 115 | 193 | 6.04 | 11 |
| Ish Sodhi | 142 | 165 | 8.16 | 4 |
| Tim Southee | 126 | 164 | 8 | 4 |
| Adil Rashid | 145 | 163 | 7.48 | 4 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 126 | 158 | 7.28 | 5 |
New Zealand and Ish Sodhi next match
New Zealand’s next assignment after the tour of Bangladesh will be a Test match in Ireland, followed by three away Tests against England in May-June. New Zealand will then embark on a limited-overs tour of the West Indies comprising 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is each.
As of now, Sodhi is not a first-choice player in either Tests or ODIs, so he may not feature in these matches and might have to wait until late July to feature in the T20I series against West Indies. Alongside 165 T20I wickets, Sodhi has also taken 64 wickets in 54 ODIs and 58 wickets in 21 Test matches.
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