Hong Kong's Ayush Shukla bowls four maiden overs in T20I match, joins Lockie Ferguson and Saad Bin Zafar in elite list

Hong Kong's 21-year-old medium pacer Ayush Shukla recently registered his name in history books. During an ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A match against Mongolia in Kuala Lumpur, Shukla equalled the world record of bowling four consecutive maiden overs in a T20I game, a feat previously achieved by New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson.

Opening the bowling attack for Hong Kong, he set the tone for the side in the very first over, claiming a wicket on the final ball of the first over. Shukla proceeded to bowl 18 consecutive dot balls, completing his spell with figures of 4-4-0-1 (four overs, four maidens, no runs conceded, and one wicket taken). 

Meanwhile, the Indian-origin bowler has so far featured in 35 T20I games for Hong Kong and scalped 30 wickets at an average of 28.90 and an economy of 8.29.

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Hong Kong restrict Mongolia to a mere 17 runs

With this spell, he became the first Asian and only the third bowler in T20I history to accomplish this. The record was first set by Canada's T20I captain Saad Bin Zafar against Panama in 2021 and later equalled by Kiwi speedster Lockie Ferguson against Papua New Guinea during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Bowlers to bowl four consecutive maiden overs in T20Is

Shukla's bowling efforts helped Hong Kong to register a dominating victory. His teammate Ehsan Khan's career-best figures of 4/5 helped them bundle out Mongolia for a mere 17 runs in 14.2 overs.

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Hong Kong then comfortably chased down the target in just 1.4 overs, losing only one wicket in the process. With two wins from two matches in the qualifier tournament, Hong Kong currently leads the points table, with four points under their belt and a healthy NRR of 9.514, they have positioned themselves strongly for T20 World Cup qualification.