3 bowlers to have taken at least two 5-wicket hauls in all formats of international cricket ft. Kuldeep Yadav

Team India left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav made his 29th birthday a memorable one by registering career-best T20I figures of 5-17 in the third match against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday. The Men in Blue needed to win the T20I to square the three-match series.

Sent into bat after losing the toss, the visitors posted 201/7 in their 20 overs as skipper Suryakumar Yadav clobbered 100 off 56 balls, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed 60 off 41. Kuldeep then ripped through the South African batting unit as the hosts were bundled out for 95 in 13.5 overs.

The left-arm wrist spinner knocked over Donovan Ferreira for 12 and added the scalps of Keshav Maharaj (1), Nandre Burger (1), Lizaad Williams (0), and David Miller (35) to complete a brilliant five-wicket haul.

Kuldeep’s five-fer was his second in the T20I format. He also has two five-wicket hauls in ODIs and three in Tests. The 29-year-old thus joined the illustrious league of bowlers who have at least two five-fers in all formats of international cricket.

We look at three other names to have done the same before Kuldeep.

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#1 Tim Southee - New Zealand

New Zealand Test captain Tim Southee (Pic: AP)

New Zealand Test captain Tim Southee has two five-wicket hauls in T20Is to go with three in ODIs and 15 in Test matches. He has played 114 T20Is, claiming 144 scalps at an average of 23.62, and an economy rate of 8.19.

His best figures of 5/18 in T20Is came in Auckland against Pakistan back in December 2010. The right-arm pacer dismissed Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, and Abdul Razzaq to restrict Pakistan to 143/9. The Kiwis went on to chase the total with five wickets in hand.

Southee’s second T20I five-wicket haul was registered against UAE in Dubai in August 2023. He claimed 5/25 in his four overs, getting the key scalps of Muhammad Waseem, V Aravind, and Basil Hameed, as UAE were held to 136, chasing a target of 156.

The 35-year-old has career-best ODI figures of 7/33, which came against England in Wellington during the 2015 World Cup. In Tests, Southee claimed 7/64 against India in Bengaluru in August-September 2012.

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#2 Shakib Al Hasan - Bangladesh

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (Pic: Getty Images)

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has 19 five-wicket hauls in Tests, four in ODIs, and two in T20Is. The left-arm spinner’s best T20I figures of 5/20 were registered against West Indies in Dhaka in December 2018.

Bangladesh had put up 211/4 batting first and Shakib’s brilliance then restricted West Indies to 175 in 19.2 overs. The canny spinner ran through the Windies' batting, getting the major scalps of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, and Fabian Allen.

Shakib’s second five-wicket haul in T20Is came when he ran through the Ireland line-up with figures of 5/22 in Chattogram in March 2023. Bangladesh put up 202/3 batting first and Shakib’s brilliance then held Ireland to 125/9. The left-arm spinner got the key scalps of Lorcan Tucker, Ross Adair, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, and Harry Tector as Ireland slumped to 43/6 by the end of the powerplay.

In Tests, Shakib has best innings figures of 7/36, which came against New Zealand in Chattogram in October 2008. The 36-year-old’s best ODI figures 5/29 were registered against Afghanistan in Southampton during the 2019 World Cup.

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#3 Lasith Malinga - Sri Lanka

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga (Pic: Getty Images)

Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling legend Lasith Malinga also has two five-wicket hauls in T20Is to go with three in Tests and as many as eight in ODIs. Malinga’s best T20I figures of 5/6 were registered against New Zealand in Pallekele in September 2019.

The Lankans were defending an under-par score of 125 in the T20I. Malinga took four wickets off consecutive balls to reduce the Kiwis to 15/4. The right-arm pacer dismissed Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme, and Ross Taylor off successive balls. He also dismissed Tim Seifert to complete a memorable five-fer. In the end, New Zealand were all out for 88.

Malinga also claimed 5/31 against England in Pallekele in October 2012 during the T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka were defending a target of 170 and Malinga’s brilliance held the Englishmen to 150/9. He dismissed Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, and Jos Buttler to kill England’s hopes in the chase.

The former Sri Lankan pacer had best figures of 5/50 in Tests, which came against India in Galle in July 2010. In ODIs, his career-best was 6/38 versus Kenya in the 2011 World Cup match in Colombo.