Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh registered his name in the record books despite the onslaught from New Zealand batters in the fourth T20I against India at Eden Park in Auckland, where the visitors suffered an 87-run defeat.
Arshdeep managed just one wicket, but it was enough to make him the bowler with the most T20I wickets in a calendar year among players from Full Member nations. The left-arm pacer dismissed New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner, who departed for 5. That wicket took Arshdeep's tally to 40 in 2026, helping him surpass Ireland's Josh Little, who previously held the record with 39 wickets in 2022. While New Zealand dominated proceedings with the bat, Arshdeep still found a place in the history books with a landmark achievement.
Most T20I wickets in a calendar year
40 - Arshdeep Singh in 2026
39 - Josh Little in 2022
38 - Wanindu Hasaranga in 2024
37 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2022
{{/usCountry}}37 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2022
{{/usCountry}}* Full member sides only
Arshdeep also reached the milestone of 150 T20I wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to achieve the feat. The 27-year-old took just 2,143 balls to claim his 150th wicket, making him the third-fastest bowler overall to reach the landmark and the quickest among pacers. The previous record for the fastest pacer was held by Mustafizur Rahman, who took 2,532 balls.
Fewest balls to 150 wickets
2035 - Wanindu Hasaranga
2098 - Rashid Khan
2143 - Arshdeep Singh
2320 - Ehsan Khan
He also reached the 150-wicket mark in just 1,577 days after his T20I debut, making him the quickest bowler to achieve the feat and surpassing Hasaranga's previous record of 2,325 days.
Meanwhile, riding on Glenn Phillips' incredible 107 off 49 balls, New Zealand posted a massive 259/7 in 20 overs. It was the highest T20I total against India by any team. Phillips and Bracewell (65, 25b), who added 115 runs off 41 balls for the fifth wicket as New Zealand came out to bat with an all guns blazing approach. Arshdeep was the only bowler for India with an economy rate in the single digits - 9.5 for his 1/38 in four overs.
In reply, India crumbled under the pressure of the mammoth target, losing Sanju Samson (4) and Ishan Kishan (0) in the very first over. The visitors failed to put up much of a fight thereafter, managing 172/9 in their 20 overs to suffer an 87-run defeat.