Malaysia's Mas Elysa breaks new ground in T20I cricket
Earlier this year in January, Elysa set up a new world record in T20I's by returning the best-ever figures. During the Thailand Women's T20 Smash tournament in Bangkok, the spinner wreaked havoc with her leg-breaks, returning 6/3 from her four overs against China – the best figures across both men's and women's T20Is.
The Malaysia all-rounder scored 33 from 32 and returned 3/9 from 4 overs.
The previous best figures in T20Is belonged to Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis, who returned 6/12 against Zimbabwe in 2012.
Elysa's record figures helped Malaysia fold China for a paltry 39, which the former chased down in 12.3 overs. She first picked up the wicket of opener Zhang Chan on the second ball of the 12th over, before dismissing China captain Li Haoye for just one in the 14th over.
In her next two overs, she took two wickets in two balls apiece – Lyu Ping and Zhand Hui Yue in the 16th over while she dismissed Wang Luo Wanyu and Zhang Xiangxue in the 18th over – thereby completing her world record spell in style.
Not only had the 17-year-old set a record in T20Is, it also became a record in Twenty20 cricket. With figures of 6/5, Somerset's Arul Vivasvan Suppiah held the record in T20s since 2011 until Elysa broke it.
While Elysa sits at the top of the list for best spells in Women's T20Is, the list has witnessed new entrants from a variety of newly recognised T20I teams. Australia, who are No.1 side in the MRF Tyres ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings, don't have a single player in the top 10.
In the past six months, since August 2018, players from Malaysia, Botswana, Myanmar, UAE, Thailand, and the West Indies have registered best spells in T20Is.
Top 10 best spells in women's T20Is:
|
Player |
Country |
Wickets |
Runs |
Overs |
Economy |
Opposition |
Date |
|
Mas Elysa |
Malaysia |
6 |
3 |
4 |
0.75 |
China |
16-01-2019 |
|
Botsogo Mpedi |
Botswana |
6 |
8 |
2.3 |
3.20 |
Lesotho |
20-08-2018 |
|
Nary Thapa |
Nepal |
6 |
8 |
4 |
2.00 |
Hong Kong |
24-02-2019 |
|
Zon Lin |
Myanmar |
6 |
10 |
4 |
2.50 |
Indonesia |
13-01-2019 |
|
Amy Satterthwaite |
New Zealand |
6 |
17 |
4 |
4.25 |
England |
16-08-2007 |
|
Chamani Seneviratna |
UAE |
5 |
3 |
4 |
0.75 |
Kuwait |
19-03-2019 |
|
Chanida Sutthiruang |
Thailand |
5 |
4 |
4 |
1.00 |
Indonesia |
15-01-2019 |
|
Deandra Dottin |
West Indies |
5 |
5 |
3.4 |
1.36 |
Bangladesh |
09-11-2018 |
|
Sune Luus |
South Africa |
5 |
8 |
4 |
2.00 |
Ireland |
23-03-2016 |
|
Anisa Mohammed |
West Indies |
5 |
10 |
4 |
2.50 |
South Africa |
26-10-2009 |
The ICC Women's Asia Qualifier 2019 alone had two of the best T20I spells – Nepal's Nary Thapa's brilliant 6/8 against Hong Kong, and UAE's Chamani Seneviratna's 5/3 against Kuwait. Malaysia spinner Elysa too returned 3/9 from her four overs against Kuwait, however, Thapa's were the best figures in the recently-concluded tournament.
After her record-breaking spell in January, Elysa was surprised with her performance but was admittingly "proud to put Malaysian cricket in the world’s map".
Kudos Mas Elysa Yasmin for ur bowling stats 6 wickets for 3 runs! A new WT20 Intl. #world record! https://t.co/UrPTGzdKfO… @MalaysiaCricket Women’s won by 6 wickets Vs China in 🇹🇭 WT20 SMASH 2019 @chedetofficial @drwanazizah @SyedSaddiq @scheekeong @ICC @stadiumastro @ACCMedia1 pic.twitter.com/S4HDTT0LEe
— Mahinda Vallipuram (@mvallipuram) January 16, 2019
"I was entrusted with the job to curtail our opponents runs, but I did not expect such figures," Elysa was quoted as saying by The Star. "I’m proud to put Malaysian cricket in the world’s map. The T20 smash tournament has been a great experience, and it also showcased our ability in cricket."
It is likely to take a team like Malaysia a while to rise up the ranks, but Elysa's world record performance is a clear sign of their emergence.