5 best bowling spells in inaugural matches of T20 leagues
The inaugural match of every T20 tournament is of utmost importance as it sets the tone for the entire competition. With the advent and popularity of T20 cricket, numerous T20 leagues have started around the world.
The first match of every T20 league is special and is memorable even after a few years. There have been a few bowling spells in the inaugural matches of T20 league that have been special.
Here is a look at five such spells.
5 best bowling spells in inaugural matches of T20 leagues
#1 Sakia Ishaque (4-11) - WPL:
The first ever match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) witnessed one of the best bowling spells in women's T20. Mumbai Indians spinner Sakia Ishaque spun a web around the Gujarat Giants, picking up four wickets in an emphatic win.
as Mansi Joshi is out LBW 
DRS successful ✅
Saika Ishaque scalps her third wicket of the innings!
#GG lose wicket number 8️⃣ as Mansi Joshi is out LBW ☝️
#TATAWPL | #GGvMI https://t.co/j2AnbS9mGZ
Her first victim, Annabel Sutherland, was bowled for just six. She then dismissed Georgia Wareham (bowled), Mansi Joshi (Lbw) and Monica Patel (bowled).
Ishaque, who is yet to play an international game, picked up four wickets for just 11 runs in 3.1 overs as the Giants were bundled out for just 64. The Mumbai Indians won the game by a mammoth 143 runs and Ishaque was one of the architects of the victory.
#2 Kieron Pollard (3-15) - CPL:
Kieron Pollard, one of the greatest T20 players, had a good outing with both the bat and ball in the very first match of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The match was played between the Barbados Tridents and St Lucia Zouks at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 20, 2013.
Batting first, the Tridents scored 169 runs for the loss of five wickets from 20 overs, with Pollard scoring an unbeaten 61 from 46 balls. Thereafter, he was impressive with the ball in the death overs and picked up three crucial wickets to guide his team to a 17-run win.
His victims included Misbah ul Haq, Shane Shillingford and Garey Mathurin.
#3 Mohammad Nawaz (4-13) - PSL:
The first-ever match in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held between Islamabad United (IU) and Quetta Gladiators (QG) on February 4 2016 in Dubai. The game was a one-sided contest, with QG chasing down a target of 129 with four overs to spare.
QH were able to restrict their opponents to 128 courtesy of a brilliant spell from Mohamad Nawaz. He picked up four wickets and conceded only 13 runs from his four overs. His scalps included Shane Watson, Sam Billings, Babar Azam, and Imran Khalid, and IU never recovered from the collapse.
Nawaz also played a handy innings (22*) with the bat and was awarded the Man of the Match award for his performance.
#4 Jofra Archer (3-27) - SA20:
Jofra Archer made a comeback to cricket after a period of almost 18 months in the SA20 earlier this year. The match was the first ever in the history of SA20 and was played on January 10, 2023 at Newlands in Cape Town.
The match was played between MI Cape Town and the Paarl Royals and Archer set the tournament on fire with a cracking spell. He dismissed Wihan Lubber in the third over of the innings. He then dismissed David Miller and Ferisco Adams in consecutive balls in the 18th over and helped his team restrict the Royals to just 142 runs in 20 overs. MI Cape Town chased down the target in 15.3 overs.
Archer made a solid comeback to T20 cricket and had figures of 3-27 from four overs, including a maiden over.
#5 Ajit Agarkar (3-25) - IPL:
The first ever match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will always be remembered for the match-winning innings of Brendon McCullum. The Kiwi opener, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), blasted 158 runs from just 73 balls, smashing 10 boundaries and 13 maximums.
KKR scored 222 runs for the loss of just three wickets in 20 overs on a good batting wicket. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were bundled out for just 82 in their innings and KKR won the match by a margin of 140 runs. Ajit Agarkar was the pick of the KKR bowlers and picked up three wickets in his four allotted overs. His victims include the experienced Jacques Kallis, Cameron White and Balachandra Akhil.