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Lockie Ferguson was phenomenal with the ball as New Zealand registered a win against Papua New Guinea in their final match of the T20 World Cup 2024. The previous edition’s semi-finalists faced a shock exit from the tournament after failing to secure a place in the Super 8.
After losing their games against Afghanistan and the West Indies, the Kiwis were all but out of the Super 8 race. Following their elimination, they had nothing to lose further and played for pride in the remaining matches of the group stage.
In the process, their star pacer Lockie Ferguson scripted history by bowling four maidens in his four-over spell while also picking up three wickets. He registered figures of 3/0 and bowled the most economical spell in the history of the T20 World Cup.
On that note, let us look at three unique firsts achieved by Ferguson in his run-less spell against PNG from the recently concluded game of the T20 World Cup 2024.
#1 First instance of four maidens by a bowler in T20 World Cup history
While this wasn’t the first time that a bowler bowled four maidens in men’s T20I, it surely was the first occurrence at the T20 World Cup. Before Ferguson, current Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar registered 2/0 in four overs against Panama in 2021, becoming the first male bowler to achieve the feat in the shortest format.
Two female cricketers, namely Perice Kamunya of Tanzania and Blessing Etim of Nigeria, have also achieved this unique feat in the 20-over format. But it was Ferguson who became the first player in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cup to record four maidens in as many overs.
#2 Most dot balls in an innings across all Men’s T20 World Cups
When Bangladesh locked horns against Nepal in the 37th match of the T20 World Cup 2024 group stage, Tanzim Hasan Sakib put up a noteworthy performance, registering 4/7 in four overs and helping his team qualify for the next stage.
During his spell, Sakib bowled 21 dot balls, becoming the bowler with the most dot balls to his name in an innings in all men’s T20 World Cups. Just a few hours later, when New Zealand faced PNG in the 39th match, Ferguson broke Sakib’s record.
The 33-year-old accounted for 24 dot balls, the highest in an innings across all men’s T20 World Cups, as he didn’t let the opposition bowlers score a single run off his deliveries and also picked up three wickets en route to the unique feat.
#3 Most maidens in one edition of the T20 World Cup
While no other bowler had managed to bowl more than three maiden overs in a season in T20 World Cup history, Ferguson became the first player to bowl four maidens in one single edition of the tournament, and the first to do so in the same match.
Sri Lanka’s Dilhara Fernando bowled three maiden overs throughout the Islanders’ campaign at the 20-over World Cup in 2007, and Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara matched the feat in the 2012 and 2014 editions of the tournament, respectively.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar also had three maidens to his name from India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. Ferguson, with his 3/0 against PNG, didn't just become the first bowler to accumulate most maidens in a single edition of the tournament but also became the first and only player to do so in one match.
