Usama Mir smashes Pakistan record with 6-8 as Sialkot demolish Lahore Blues
Sialkot posted an imposing 210 for four after being put in to bat at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar. Abdullah Shafique led the charge with 57 off 31 balls coming in at number three, while Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti's unbeaten 47 off 17 deliveries pushed the total past 200 in the closing overs.
Mir rips through Lahore middle order
Lahore Blues never looked like getting close. They lost their first wicket in the third over before opener Umar Siddique Khan and Hamza Zahoor steadied things with a 55-run stand for the second wicket. Then Mir entered the attack.
The 30-year-old leg-spinner removed Umar to break the partnership, then tore through the middle order with three more quick wickets as Lahore slumped to 83 for five. His first two overs cost just six runs for two wickets. By the end of his 3.2-over spell, the damage was done: six wickets for eight runs, the best bowling figures by a Pakistani on home soil in T20 cricket.
Lahore were bundled out for 100 in 14.2 overs, giving Sialkot a comprehensive 110-run win. Mir was named Player of the Match.
A record-breaking spell
Mir's 6-8 surpassed Sohail Tanvir's 6-14, which had stood as the best by a Pakistani bowler in T20 cricket since 2008. The performance also made him the fourth bowler in T20 history to claim two six-wicket hauls, joining Ajantha Mendis, Shakib Al Hasan, and Arzan Nagwaswalla.
Despite the numbers in domestic cricket, Mir has found himself on the fringes of Pakistan's international setup. He played 17 games for Pakistan between 2023 and 2024, picking up 20 wickets across ODIs and T20Is, but has been overtaken in the pecking order by Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq. Performances like this in the National T20 Cup will make him difficult to overlook the next time selectors sit down.
