Adam Zampa becomes Australia's leading wicket-taker in T20 WC history
Australian spinner Adam Zampa surpassed pacer Mitchell Starc to become the country's leading wicket-taker in ICC T20 World Cup history.
Zampa accomplished this milestone during his side's ICC T20 World Cup clash against Namibia at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
In the game, Zampa delivered a destructive spell of 4/12 in four overs at an economy rate of 3.00 that caused the Namibian side to fall apart. His scalps included the star all-rounder David Wiese.
Now in 17 matches, Zampa has taken 31 wickets at an average of 11.93 and an economy rate of 5.96, with the best bowling figures of 5/19. He has surpassed Starc, who has taken 29 wickets in 22 matches at an average of 24.72, with the best figures of 3/20 and an economy rate of 8.43.
The top three leading wicket-takers in T20 WC history are: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan (47 wickets in 38 matches), former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi (39 wickets in 34 matches) and former Sri Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga (38 wickets in 31 games).
Zampa on Wednesday also became the first Australian to take 100 wickets in T20Is. Now in 83 games, he has 100 wickets at an average of 21.46 and an economy rate of 7.20, with the best figures of 5/19.
Zampa also secured his fifth 'Player of the Match' award in his T20 WC career, tying with stars like Chris Gayle (West Indies), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) and Shane Watson (Australia) for clinching the honour second-highest amount of times. Indian batting icon Virat Kohli has the highest 'Player of the Match' award wins in the tournament history, with seven.
‘Nice feeling to have qualified for Super Eights...’: Zampa
Adam Zampa, who delivered a match-winning four-wicket haul said that it feels nice to have qualified for the Super Eights stage of the competition.
Australia qualified for the Super Eights of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 after beating Namibia by 9 wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Speaking after the game in a post-match presentation, Zampa said, "To get the win tonight and qualify for the Super Eights, is a nice feeling. (On if he feels the ball is coming out well) Yes and no. I bowled a couple of pies tonight but in general, the ball feels like it is coming out well. Being encouraged to pick up wickets in the middle, particularly by the captain. (Challenge of bowling with the breeze) We experienced that in Barbados as well. We know on these wickets that is a challenge. We are happy, it is the first step in trying to take the trophy home but a long way to go."
