Wanindu Hasaranga Broke Shahid Afridi Record: In his very first match of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka’s star leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has broken the record of former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi. Hasaranga took 3 wickets for just 25 runs in his 4 overs in the match against Ireland. With these three wickets, Hasaranga has become the second most successful bowler in the history of T20 World Cup. Hasaranga played his first T20 World Cup in the year 2021, since then Hasaranga has taken 40 wickets in this tournament, whereas Shahid Afridi, who played 6 T20 World Cups from 2007 to 2016, took 39 wickets in this tournament.

Shakib Al Hasan is the number-1 bowler in the T20 World Cup

Former Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan tops the list of bowlers who have taken the most wickets in the history of T20 World Cup. Shakib, who played all the T20 World Cups from 2007 to 2024, has taken the maximum of 50 wickets in this tournament. The surprising thing in this list is that no bowler of Team India, which has won the T20 World Cup title twice, is present in the top-5, while R Ashwin is present at 13th position with 32 wickets.

Top-5 bowlers taking most wickets in the history of T20 World Cup

1. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 50 wickets

2. Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) – 40 wickets

3. Shaheed Afridi (Pakistan) – 39 wickets

4. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – 38 wickets

5. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) – 38 wickets

How was the Sri Lanka vs Ireland match?

After losing the toss and opting to bat first against Ireland, Sri Lanka scored 163 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. In this match, Kushal Mendis played a brilliant half-century innings of 56 runs, while Kamindu Mendis played a explosive cameo in the end by scoring 44 runs on 19 balls. Chasing this score, Ireland’s score at one time was 113 runs at the loss of 4 wickets in 15 overs, but the Irish team could not withstand the pressure in the last 5 overs and got reduced to 143 runs in 19.5 overs. Sri Lanka won this match by 20 runs.