T20 World Cup: West Indies' Nicholas Pooran equals Yuvraj Singh's record, hits Afghanistan's Omarzai for 36 runs in an over

Gros Islet (St Lucia), June 18

The West Indies team, on a record-shattering spree, equalled the T20 World Cup record for most runs in an over in the game against Afghanistan in Gros Islet on Tuesday.

Windies achieve the feat during their last Group stage match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran scored 36 runs off Azmatullah Omarzai’s fourth over, equalling India’s record set in 2007 by former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh with six sixes against England. However, the over didn’t witness all six balls going out of the park as happened in 2007.

It is an unwanted record for Afghanistan seamer Omarzai, who conceded a total of 36 in one over during the Powerplay. Nicholas Pooran smashed three sixes and a pair of fours during Omarzai’s second over which included some wayward bowling, meaning Yuvraj Singh’s long-standing record for most runs in one over at a Men’s T20 World Cup was equalled.

The explosive wicketkeeper-batter hammered 36 runs off Omarzai’s bowling: 6, 5NB, 5WD, 0, 4LB, 4, 6, 6.

Pooran’s onslaught landed him on an elite list that also includes three Indian players. Yuvraj became the first batter to score 36 runs in an over when he faced England’s Stuart Broad and hit the pacer for six maximums in one over. Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh are also on the elite list.

During his 98-run innings, Pooran smoked eight sixes against Afghanistan, taking his tally to 128 in the T20I format and past West Indies great Chris Gayle’s total of 124.

Coming to the match, after being put to bat first, the West Indies made their intentions obvious by going for big shots. However, opener Brandon King struggled to get the start and fell prey to left Omarzai after scoring 7 runs off 6 balls. From there, Pooran and Johnson Charles played their shots to put the Caribbean squad in command.

Pooran’s brutal assault of 98 runs propelled West Indies to 218/5 against Afghanistan in the final game of Group C of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Monday (local time).

West Indies notched up the highest first-innings total in the ongoing marquee event and their highest total in the T20 World Cups.