T20 World Cup: Lockie Ferguson’s Historic Feat, Four Maiden Overs with 3 Wickets

In the final T20 World Cup match of New Zealand’s campaign, Lockie Ferguson bowled a remarkable four overs without giving up a single run against Papua New Guinea. Ferguson became the only player in the tournament to achieve this remarkable achievement by taking three vital wickets during his match.

After Kane Williamson decided to bowl in the rain-delayed match at Tarouba, Ferguson came on in the fifth over of PNG’s innings. On the first ball of the game, he took a wicket and sent the PNG’s captain Assad Vala, out for six. Ferguson’s skills showed major difficulties for the PNG hitters who were unprepared for a much superior opponent in New Zealand.

After the Powerplay, Ferguson carried on from the other end and bowled another maiden, this time to Sese Bau, continuing to mix up his lengths to cause problems for the hitter. When Ferguson returned in the 12th over, he made an immediate impression once more, dismissing Charles Amini for 17 on his second ball.

Two runs were scored off the third ball in his fourth over, but they were leg-byes, therefore they were not included in Ferguson’s final total. Eventually, he achieved the amazing feat in the shortest format by dismissing Chad Soper for 1 and bowling a fourth maiden.

Ferguson became only the second bowler in T20I history to achieve this milestone. Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar was the first to deliver four maidens in a T20I. In a T20 World Cup qualifier against Panama, he accomplished this accomplishment. With three wickets in his bowling time, Ferguson has now surpassed Zafar’s previous record of two wickets taken.

Most Maidens in T20I Innings

Rank	Player	Team	Maidens	Opponent	Year
1	Lockie Ferguson	New Zealand	4	PNG	2024
2	Saad Bin Zafar	Canada	4	Panama	2021
3	George Sesay	Sierra Leone	3	Mali	2023
4	Nopphon Senamontree	Thailand	3	Maldives	2024

Most Maidens in a T20 World Cup Innings

Rank	Player	Team	Maidens	Opponent	Year
1	Lockie Ferguson	New Zealand	4	PNG	2024
2	Ajantha Mendis	Sri Lanka	2	Zimbabwe	2012
3	Harbhajan Singh	India	2	England	2012
4	Tanzib Hasan Sakib	Bangladesh	2	Nepal	2024

New Zealand at the T20 World Cup

With their elimination from the competition already, the Kiwis’ effort has been unsatisfactory overall. Afghanistan and the West Indies were the teams the Kane Williamson-led team lost to in its group, which confirmed its early elimination from the competition.

The team’s top pacer Trent Boult announced ahead of their last Twenty20 International match against PNG that he will be retiring after the World Cup.