Deepti Sharma made history on Wednesday by becoming the first Indian cricketer to record 100 wickets in T20Is (February 15). The great off-spinner got three wickets against the West Indies in India’s current ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 match at Newlands, Cape Town, to set a new record.
In the last over of the innings, the 25-year-old right-arm off-spinner knocked out Afy Fletcher for her 100th wicket in the shortest format. In India’s second tournament encounter, she took three for 15 and bowled out the Caribbean side for 118/6 while bowling first. Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar also took one wicket apiece, while Stafanie Taylor top-scored for the West Indies with 42 from 40 balls.
Deepti took the wicket of experienced batter Stafanie Taylor, her second wicket of the game, to become India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is. She beat experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav, who has 98 wickets in 72 T20 Internationals. Yuzvendra Chahal leads the bowling chart for India in men’s T20I cricket with 91 wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has 90.
Anisa Mohammed, a veteran West Indian spinner who last played an international T20I in September 2021, retains the leader with 125 wickets in 117 T20Is. Deepti has 100 wickets in 87 T20I innings at an average of 19.07 and an economy rate of 6.10. She is India’s top-ranked bowler in the current ICC T20I rankings and the second-ranked all-rounder in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings.
Deepti is having a fantastic week after winning a lucrative contract at the Women’s Premier League auction only two days ago. The UP Warriorz paid INR 2.6 crore for her, making her the second-most expensive Indian cricketer at the auction.
Deepti is also on the verge of reaching 100 wickets in ODIs, having taken 91 wickets in 80 innings at an average of 30.01 and an economy rate of 4.18. She is just eight wickets behind Rajeshwari Gayakwad, India’s top ODI wicket-taker among current players.
