UAE left-arm spinner Haider Ali, playing just his third T20I, bowled a record-breaking spell of 3-7 from four overs to help his team register a series victory over Bangladesh.
The 30-year-old Haider made his international debut in the first match of the ongoing series against Bangladesh. After returning 0-30 and 0-31 in the first two games, the left-arm spinner spun a web in the third T20I, taking three wickets while conceding just seven runs from his four overs, which included a maiden.
Haider Ali breaks record with miserly spell
UAE's Dhruv Parashar dismissed Bangladesh opener Parvez Hossain Emon with his first delivery in the second over of the innings after the hosts put the visitors into bat. Haider, introduced in the attack in the fourth over, struck gold immediately as well, trapping Bangladesh captain Litton Das leg before with his first ball.
Two balls later, Haider had Towhid Hridoy lbw as well, this time with a quicker delivery. He returned for his second over inside the powerplay and finished things off with another wicket off the last ball, cleaning up Mahedi Hasan's stumps to leave Bangladesh reeling at 49-4.
Also read: Best T20I batter ever? UAE opener Muhammad Waseem has a statistical claim to the title
From there, Bangladesh slipped further to 84-8 by the end of the 14th over before Jaker Ali (41 off 34 balls), Hasan Mahmud (26 off 15), and Shoriful Islam (16 off 7) rescued them to a competitive total of 162 from 20 overs.
It turned out to inadequate: Alishan Sharafu (68 not out in 47 balls) and Asif Khan (41 not out in 26) completed the chase with an unbroken 87-ball stand in 51 balls with seven wickets and five balls to spare.
3rd T20I, United Arab Emirates vs Bangladesh
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- Ball by ball Over
Haider's spell of 4-1-7-3 is now the joint-second most economical four-over spell by a UAE bowler in men's T20Is, equalling Aayan Afzal Khan's 4-1-7-3 against Cambodia in 2024. This is also the most economical four-over spell by a UAE bowler against a Full Member team in men's T20Is, beating Mohammad Naveed's previous record of 4-1-12-2, set in 2016, also against Bangladesh.
Haider also broke the world record for the most economical four-over spell by a bowler from an Associate Nation against a Full Member team. The previous record belonged to Afghanistan's Amir Hamza, who bowled four overs for nine runs and a wicket against the West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup. Afghanistan were yet to become a Full Member nation at that point.
Peter Ongondo of Kenya also has a four-over spell of seven runs to his name against Ireland, but that came in 2008, when Ireland were only an Associate Member.
Most economical four-over spells by an associate bowler vs Full Member team
| Player | Team | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | Opposition, Year |
| Haider Ali | UAE | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1.75 | Bangladesh, 2025 |
| Amir Hamza | Afghanistan | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2.25 | West Indies, 2016 |
| Boyd Rankin | Ireland | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2.75 | Pakistan, 2009 |
| Alex Cusack | Ireland | 1 | 11 | 4 | 2.75 | West Indies, 2014 |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 0 | 11 | 3 | 2.75 | Zimbabwe, 2016 |
After losing the first match of the series by 27 runs, UAE bounced back to secure a record chase of 206 in the second T20I. A victory in the third sealed the series 2-1 in their favour, making it only their second bilateral series victory against a Full Member nation following their 2-1 victory over Ireland in a T20I series in October 2021.
Image credit: UAE Cricket Official / x.com/@EmiratesCricket
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