Most expensive over in T20: Record that no bowler wants

For a high-paced format like T20 cricket, a bowler’s nightmare is registering the most expensive over.

While it differs from pitch to pitch, a T20 bowler should understand the mindset of the opposition batsmen before bowling his over. Otherwise, they would be at the mercy of specialist batsmen like Chris Gayle, who has the record for the fastest century in T20 cricket.

Bangalore’s Harshal Patel, who earlier made the news as the first player to take a fifer against current holders Mumbai, was hammered for 37 overs in his final over against Chennai.

After taking three wickets for just 14 runs from his three overs, skipper Virat Kohli handed the ball for Harshal to bowl the final over of the first innings. Needless to say, it was a costly mistake.

Ravindra Jadeja had no mercy on Harshal Patel as he smashed 6,6,6nb,6,2,6,4 in the 20th over. Totalling 37 runs, it was the most expensive over in T20.

With this, Harshal Patel equalled Prasanth Parameswaran’s 2011 record in the Indian T20 League who leaked 37 runs in the third over of Kerala’s game against Bangalore.

Most expensive over in Indian T20 League

Four bowlers, meanwhile, have conceded a record 36 runs in an over in T20 internationals. Two of them saw the batsmen smashing six successive sixes. 

India’s Yuvraj Singh did it first in 2007 against England, blazing six sixes off Stuart Broad’s final and the innings penultimate over during the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. Yuvraj brought up his fifty with the last six of the over in just 12 balls and was ultimately dismissed in the last over for a 14-ball 58. The Indian cricket team posted 218/4 and beat England by 18 runs. Broad ended with 0/60 in his four overs.

Fourteen years later in 2021, Kieron Pollard smashed six sixes off Akila Dananjaya, as West Indies chased Sri Lanka’s 131/9 in just 13.1 overs and with four wickets in hand. Pollard set the tone early, blazing in the sixth over and taming Dananjaya who had picked an impressive 3/17 in two overs until then, including a hat-trick. The Sri Lankan ended with figures of 3/62 in his four overs in the end.

West Indies' Nicholas Pooran broke multiple records during a T20 World Cup 2024, Group C match against Afghanistan. In the fourth over against Azmatullah Omarzai, Pooran struck three sixes and three boundaries. A no-ball and 4 leg byes made matters worse for the Afghan all-rounder as power-hitter Pooran scored 36 runs in an over to enter an elite list of batters. The 28-year-old's fiery knock ended with 98 runs off 53 balls and helped the Windies to a win.

Shivam Dube has the unwanted record of conceding the most runs in an over by an Indian bowler when he gave away 34 runs to the New Zealand pair of Tim Seifert and Ross Taylor at Mount Maunganui in February 2020. Dube’s first ball was to Seifert and the over went 6641 and then nb466 to Taylor. It was Shivam Dube’s only over on the day. India had posted 163/3 but it proved to be enough as they won by seven runs, Dube’s generosity notwithstanding.

Most expensive over in T20I

Featured photo: Twitter / Royal Challengers Bangalore