Veteran South African bowler Dale Steyn has become the leading wicket-taker for his nation in T20 internationals. He achieved the landmark during the first T20I of the three-match series against England at Buffalo Park in East London on Sunday.
It all happened in the third over of England’s run-chase of 178, when Steyn got the wicket of Jos Buttler and surpassed his compatriot Imran Tahir who grabbed 61 wickets in the shortest format of the game at international level.
Tahir has taken 61 wickets in 35 matches, while Steyn reached the 62-wicket mark in his 45th game. Morne Morkel is the third bowler in the list of leading Proteas wicket-takers with 46 scalps.
Most wickets for SA in T20I:
62 – Dale Steyn
61 – Imran Tahir
46 – Morne Morkel
41 – Wayne Parnell
When it comes to overall figures, then Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga tops the table with 106 wickets, followed by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (96), and Bangladesh’s Shakib-Al-Hasan (92).
Meanwhile, England lost the thrilling encounter by just one run. South African pacer Lungi Ngidi for bowling the game-changing last over was honored with the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
The second game will take place on Friday (Feb 14) at Kingsmead in Durban.
