The game between Leicestershire and Warwickshire during the 2019 T20 Blast saw itself becoming a part of the history book owing to a mind-boggling spell by Colin Ackermann. Playing at the Grace Road in Leicester, home skipper Colin created history by becoming the first batsman to take a seven-wicket haul in the shortest format of the game. The record for the best T20 bowling figure was previously held by Arul Suppiah who recorded 6/5 in the 2011 Twenty20 Cup.
The historic game kickstarted with the home skipper winning the toss and electing to bat first. The hosts enjoyed a decent run with the willow as they racked up a score of 189 in their 20 overs. Opening batsman Harry Swindells was the highest run-scorer with 63 runs. Lewis Hill also made a notable contribution as he added 58 runs to the scoreboard.
Defending 190, Leicestershire skipper decided to play a gamble by introducing himself in the third over a part-time off-spinner. Colin gained immediate success as he was successful in removing Michael Burgess to break Warwickshire’s opening stand of 21 runs. This was soon followed by another wicket for Leicestershire as Gavin Griffiths cleaned up another opening batter Dom Sibley.
Despite the initial struggle, Warwickshire managed to stabilize themselves. The visitors made a comeback in the match courtesy of Sam Hain. With Warwickshire going strong at 118 for three, Colin again decided to take the matter in his hand in the 15th over. The same proved to be a masterstroke for Leicestershire as the skipper picked three wickets on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th delivery of the 15th over.
Terrific bowling by Colin in the 15th over resulted in three Warwickshire batsmen including the likes of Will Rhodes, Alex Thomson, and Liam Banks marching back to the pavilion. Colin delivered another over of three wickets as he cleaned up Hains, Henry Brookes, and Jeetan Patel in the 17th over.
In the end, Colin’s figure read 4-0-18-7. The exemplary performance by the Leicestershire skipper steered the team to a victory by 55 runs.
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