ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Sam Curran Becomes First England Bowler To Take A Five-for In Men's T20I

The 24-year-old England National Cricket Team left-arm pacer Sam Curran has become the first Englishman to take a five-for in T20 Internationals.

The youngster achieved the sensational milestone in the second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 stage that saw the battle between Group A teams – Jos Buttler-led England National Cricket Team and Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan National Cricket Team – at the Perth Stadium on Saturday, October 22.

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Curran finished his spell with the figures of 3.4-0-10-5 and his exceptional bowling helped the Three Lions bundle out Afghanistan for 112. Notably, the left-arm seamer bagged the wickets of Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah, Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Usman Ghani and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

England chased down the target in 18.1 overs with the help of decent batting performances by Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales to register a 5-wicket win over the Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Sam Curran, who got ruled out of the last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE, has become only the second bowler after Mujeeb Ur Rahman to bag a 5-wicket haul on T20 World Cup debut.

Also, Curran is only the second bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bag a 5-wicket haul against Afghanistan in T20Is. Before Curran, the record for best bowling figures by an England bowler in Men’s T20Is was held by Adil Rashid, who ended his spell with the figures of 2.2-0-2-4 against West Indies in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

I try to be as adaptable as possible – Sam Curran

Speaking after the match against Afghanistan, Player of the Match award winner, Sam Curran, said that he tries to be as adaptable as possible with the ball in different conditions. He said:

“I try to be as adaptable as possible (with the ball). I’m trying to get better at different phases and keep contributing. Really enjoying my cricket at the moment.”

Sam Curran was also delighted with the victory over Afghanistan National Cricket Team in their tournament opener and was hopeful of taking the confidence further into the tournament. He stated:

“We saw the way the Afghanistan team made it quite tricky, we knew they had world-class spinners in the middle there. Nice to get the first win. Every team can beat anyone. Hopefully we take today’s confidence into Wednesday’s game and then the big one against Australia on Friday.

“Hopefully, we can play with confidence. No better preparation than playing that many games. To come here and start with a win is obviously great. It’ll be another tricky game against Ireland.”

Also Read: Watch: Glenn Phillips Grabs An Exceptional Flying Catch To Get Rid Of Marcus Stoinis In T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 Opener