36 runs in an over! Nicolas Pooran scripts history at T20 World Cup against Afghanistan. Watch video – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Nicholas Pooran etched his name in the record books by playing his part in the most expensive over in T20I cricket history. In the final Group C match of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia, Pooran unleashed a brutal assault on Afghan bowler Azmatullah Omarzai, who conceded an astonishing 36 runs in a single over.

Hitting eight sixes on the night, Pooran, who also became the first Caribbean batter to score 2000 T20I runs, created history by surpassing Chris Gayle’s record for hitting the most sixes in T20Is for West Indies. Pooran now has 128 sixes, four more than Gayle’s previous record.


T20 World Cup 2024: Points Table | Schedule

West Indies, batting first after Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan opted to bowl, were cruising at 73/1 after four overs, with Pooran and Johnson Charles at the crease.

Azmatullah Omarzai, tasked with bowling the fourth over, bore the brunt of Pooran’s onslaught, as the left-hander unleashed a barrage of boundaries and maximums.

The over in question, bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai, conceded a staggering 36 runs, placing it among the most memorable overs in T20 International cricket. Pooran’s assault included a series of powerful shots that left the Afghanistan bowlers and spectators in awe.

Watch the video here:




The over’s breakdown is as follows: starting with a six, followed by another maximum, a boundary, leg byes for four runs, a no-ball resulting in a boundary, five wides, and concluding with another six.

Notably, Omarzai’s over included 10 extras, comprising five wides, a no-ball, and four leg-byes, contributing significantly to the total tally of 36 runs.

This onslaught not only boosted the West Indies’ run rate but also brought up a 50-run partnership between Pooran and Johnson Charles in just 14 balls.

Pooran’s batting made the elite list of cricketers who have scored 36 runs in an over in T20 internationals, a record previously set by Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma, and Dipendra Singh Airee.

Most runs in an over in T20Is

• 36 – Yuvraj Singh (IND) vs Stuart Broad (ENG), Durban, 2007
• 36 – Kieron Pollard (WI) vs Akila Dananjaya (SL), Coolidge, 2021
• 36 – Rohit Sharma & Rinku Singh (IND) vs Karim Janat (AFG), Bengaluru, 2024
• 36 – Dipendra Singh Airee (NEP) vs Kamran Khan (QAT), Al Amerat, 2024
• 36 – Nicholas Pooran (WI) vs Azmatullah Omarzai (AFG), St. Lucia, 2024

Thanks to his flamboyant batting, Pooran reached his half-century in just 31 balls, propelling the West Indies to a formidable total. By the end of the innings, the left-hander had amassed 98 runs off 53 balls, including six fours and eight sixes. West Indies set Afghanistan a challenging target of 218 runs.