Botswana right-arm medium-fast bowler Nabil Master has established a new world record in Men’s Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, producing the most economical six-wicket haul in the format’s history. His performance occurred during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier A fixture against Mali at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 1 in Gaborone.
Master, who made his T20I debut in May 2019, returned to the international arena after a seven-year absence, having played only two matches in his opening year. Two days prior to his record-breaking spell, he signaled his form by claiming two wickets for 10 runs against Sierra Leone. Against Mali, he produced career-best figures of 6 wickets for just 2 runs from 2.4 overs.
Match Summary and Bowling Metrics
Mali elected to bat first but collapsed under heavy bowling pressure, bowled out for a total of 24 runs in 9.4 overs. Master claimed six of the ten wickets to fall.
He was introduced into the attack during the sixth over and delivered a maiden. He returned for his second over in the eighth over of the innings, with Mali’s score standing at 18 for the loss of four wickets. Master struck with the first ball of that over, precipitating a structural batting collapse by taking two additional wickets in the same over. He completed the performance in the tenth over by dismissing Mali’s final three batsmen.
The structural and statistical outputs from the match are detailed in the table below:
| Bowler Name | Overs Delivered | Maiden Overs | Runs Conceded | Wickets Taken | Economy Rate |
| Nabil Master (BOT) | 2.4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0.75 |
| Brandon van Zyl (BOT) | 2.0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2.00 |
| Mmoloki Mooketsi (BOT) | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Boemo Kgosiemang (BOT) | 2.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 |
| Katlo Piet (BOT) | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 |
Historical Context and Career Milestones
With an economy rate of 0.75, Master eclipsed the previous men’s T20I record held by Singapore’s Harsha Bharadwaj. In 2024, Bharadwaj claimed six wickets for 3 runs across four overs against Mongolia.
Master’s international journey began in May 2019 during the ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, where he took one wicket for 30 runs against Uganda in his debut match and did not bowl in his second fixture against Namibia. Following his seven-year absence from national selection, his return has proved highly effective.
Following his historic bowling display, Botswana’s opening batsmen completed the run chase rapidly, scoring 25 runs without loss in 2.2 overs to secure a ten-wicket victory.