While the USA cricket team left the fans across the globe stunned with their surprisingly effective bowling efforts, Saurabh Netravalkar registered the worst bowling figures in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup.
Saurabh Netravalkar, an Indian-origin USA bowler who was up against Team India, spent a record number of 65 runs in his 4-over spells without taking a wicket. These numbers not only eventually hurt the team but also might have damaged the cricketer’s morale too deeply.
A night Saurabh Netravalkar will love to forget
The USA cricket team was thriving at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the third match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. At one point of the India vs. USA match, the Men in Blue were 6 down with only 77 runs on the scoreboard. Shadley van Schalkwyk took a total of 4 wickets in the innings, including a 3-wicket over. Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin, and Harmeet Singh also did their job precisely for the USA cricket team with the ball.
But the situation was not polite enough for the 34-year-old Saurabh Netravalkar. The left-arm pacer, who is originally from Mumbai, will try to forget the night as soon as possible. But the record book will be left untouched for many years ahead. The USA skipper Monank Patel called the bowler during the powerplay and slog overs, when batters are trying to accumulate as many runs as possible.
Before Sourabh, it was Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya, who had the record for conceding most amount of runs in a T20 World Cup match. The former Sri Lanka batter leaked 64 runs in 4 overs against Pakistan in 2007.
Suryakumar Yadav bashed the USA bowler
Against Netravalkar, the Indian batters did the same. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, during their brief innings, smashed the seamer for big hits. But it was Suryakumar Yadav (84*), the best performer of the match, who got the most from the out-of-form bowler. Yadav hit three 4s and one 6 in the 16th over. And for the 20th over, the batter struck a pair of 6s and a four against the USA bowler.
The momentum the USA gained was lost in the second over against the experienced Indian bowling attack. Against India’s 161, the national cricket team of the United States of America got to secure only 132 for 8 in their 20-over limit. India won their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 by 19 runs.
List of the bowlers who have conceded the most runs in a single ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match:
1. Saurabh Netravalkar (USA)—65 runs in 4 overs vs India (2026)
2. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 64 runs in 4 overs vs Pakistan (2007)
3. Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh) – 63 runs in 4 overs vs Pakistan (2014)
4. Lameck Onyango (Kenya) – 61 runs in 4 overs vs Sri Lanka (2007)
5. Stuart Broad (England) – 60 runs in 4 overs vs India (2007)
