Five most economical spells in T20 cricket
T20 cricket is so much a batsman's game that bowlers are literally at the mercy of the men wielding large chunks of wood, requiring just 60-70m to clear the fence. There is no respite for the bowlers, who can get hit for sixes even off top edges.
Such is the nature of T20 cricket that bowlers can rarely expect a scenario where they go for less than six an over. Batting teams aim for scores above 180 which means that hardly any bowler escapes the stick, however, well they bowl.
That said, there have been certain rare performances, where a bowler has out thought batsmen and used his skills extremely well to plug the run flow completely. Though a rarity, T20 cricket has produced such sparkling performances and it is only right that we divert some of the attention away from batsmen.
Here is a look at the five most economical spells in the history of T20 cricket. (All four overs bowled)
#5 Shoaib Malik (4-2-3-1) - Caribbean Premier League, Aug 2013
Shoaib Malik, the Pakistani all-rounder, produced one of the best bowling displays in the history of T20 cricket in a Caribbean Premier League match between Barbados Tridents and Antigua Hawksbills.
Having finished with a meagre 97 in the allotted 20 overs on a tough wicket in North Sound, Barbados choked the chase with some fine bowling. At the helm of it was Malik, who dismissed Kieron Powell the opener, early on.
Malik went on to bowl two maidens and gave away just three runs in his four overs to create history. His figures read 4-2-3-1 at the end of the game. Despite his herculean effort, Barbados lost the match by five wickets.