New Delhi: South African medium pacer Patrick Kruger bowled one of the bizarre overs in the first T20 International match against India played at the Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, November 8. South African bowling attack toiled on the field as Indian wicketkeeper Sanju Samson led the carnage at the top after being invited to bat first during the toss.
Samson smashed his successive ton (107 from 50 balls) to propel the visitors to a challenging score of 202 for 8 in the first innings. The Indian opener hammered seven fours and 10 sixes before his departure in the 16th over. He was involved in one of the longest T20I overs during the Indian innings.
When Kruger came to bowl his first over, which was the ninth over of the first innings, it turned out to be a 12-ball over with 15 runs coming from it. The first ball saw Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav picking a single and then Samson smashed a boundary in the following delivery.
Kruger bowled a no-ball on his third and conceded only a couple of runs against Suryakumar on the ‘free-hit delivery’. Four illegal deliveries followed thereafter with a wide, no-ball, wide, wide were the results before the Proteas pacer gave just a single on the fourth legal delivery, which was also a free-hit. Samson brought Suryakumar back on strike after the penultimate ball of the over.
It was a tiring over for the 29-year-old Kruger but he had something to celebrate at the end. He managed to remove the dangerous Suryakumar in his final ball. A knuckleball and the Indian captain went for the loft only to find debutant Andile Simelane at the square leg position.
End of 11 ball over from Patrick Kruger.
1 4 NB1 2 WD NB WD WD 1 1 W
Surprisingly just 15 runs came of it and the wicket of SKY 🫡 pic.twitter.com/qhtDBC49ol
— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) November 8, 2024
Kruger was later hit for 20 runs in his next over (14th over of the Indian innings). Tilak Varma smashed a boundary and a six in the first three balls and Samson also tonked one into the stands on the fifth ball. However, there was no extras conceded this time, albeit an expensive over.
Did Patrick Kruger bowled the longest over in T20Is?
South African pacer Patrick Kruger didn’t registered the unwanted record of bowling the longest over in the first T20I against South Africa. Kruger bowled the joint-third longest over as Uganda medium pacer Cosmas Kyewuta also bowled 12 balls in an over against Namibia in 2021.
The record for the longest oer in T20Is is jointly held by Mongolia pacer Luwsanzundui Erdenebulgan (against Japan in May 2024) and Butan’s medium fast bowler Thinley Jamtsho (against Maldives in December 2019). Kyewuta bowled 12 balls in an over during a T20I match between Uganda and Namibia in April 2021.
Longest Over in T20Is:
Luwsanzundui Erdenebulgan (Mongolia): 14 balls in an over vs Japan, May 2024
Thinley Jamtsho (Bhutan): 14 balls in an over vs Maldives, December 2019
Idriss Tchakou (Cameroon): 13 balls in an over vs Lesotho, September 2024
Cosmas Kyewuta (Uganda): 12 balls in an over vs Namibia, April 2021
Patrick Kruger (South Africa): 12 balls in an over vs India, November 2024
When Patrick Kruger came to bowl his first over, which was the ninth over of the first innings, it turned out to be a 12-ball over with 15 runs coming from it. This was the joint-third longest over in the history of T20Is. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
