Imran Tahir joins legends with fifth T20 fifer: Stats
What's the story
Imran Tahir, the veteran cricketer and captain of Guyana Amazon Warriors, has matched an elite T20 record of Lasith Malinga and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The 46-year-old leg-spinner achieved this feat by taking a five-wicket haul against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in the ninth match of the 2025 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season in North Sound. He took five wickets for just 21 runs in his four overs during the match on Saturday.
Career highlights
Joint-second-most 5-wicket hauls in T20 cricket
This was Tahir's fifth five-wicket haul in T20 cricket, tying him with Malinga and Kumar for the joint-second most in the format's history. David Wiese leads this category with seven five-wicket hauls, as per ESPNcricinfo. Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan are the other bowlers with five fifers in the format. Hence, Tahir is at par with Shakib in terms of spinners with the most T20 fifers.
Match recap
Guyana Warriors beat Antigua and Barbuda by 83 runs
The Guyana Amazon Warriors secured an emphatic 83-run victory over the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in the ninth match of CPL 2025. They posted a massive total of 211 runs for three wickets in their allotted overs. In reply, the Falcons started strong but were eventually dismissed for just 128 runs in 15.2 overs, handing a huge defeat to them.
Record breaker
Oldest captain to take a 5-wicket haul in T20s
Tahir's five-wicket haul against the Falcons made him the oldest captain to achieve such a feat in T20 cricket. He is also the first man to do so in his forties, surpassing Malawi captain Moazzam Ali Baig's record from September 2004. At 46 years and 148 days old during this match, he is also the second-oldest player ever to take a five-wicket haul in all recorded T20 cricket history.
Career
Fourth-most wickets in T20s
Having played 436 T20 games, Tahir has claimed 554 scalps. He averages 19.52 with an economy rate of 6.96. He has managed 12 four-fers and five five-wicket hauls in the 20-over format. 63 of his scalps came for South Africa in T20Is. Meanwhile, Tahir is only behind Rashid Khan (660), Dwayne Bravo (631), and Sunil Narine (590) in terms of T20 wickets. 114 of Tahir's wickets have come from 80 CPL matches at 17.14.