Shabnim Ismail makes history, becomes first bowler to take 50 wickets in Women's T20 World Cup

South Africa’s Shabnim Ismail (right) celebrates a goal. (AP photo) South Africa pacer Shabnim Ismail entered the record books by becoming the first bowler to take 50 wickets in the history of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Thursday’s semi-final against England at The Oval.The milestone came in Ismail’s 38th Women’s T20 World Cup appearance when she dismissed England opener Amy Jones on the very first ball of her opening match. Jones managed just two runs before getting past Annerie Dercksen to hand the fast bowler her all-time 50th wicket of the tournament.Ismail was not done there, striking again in her second match to leave England reeling at 23/3 and put South Africa firmly in control during the early stages of the semi-final.However, England bounced back thanks to a superb century partnership between captain Nate Sciver-Brunt and former captain Heather Knight before eventually securing a 40-run victory to book the Women’s World T20 Cup final against Australia.

Ismail achieved an unprecedented World Cup milestone

The 37-year-old from Cape Town entered the semi-finals needing just one wicket to reach the unprecedented milestone and wasted little time in achieving it.Her early breakthroughs highlighted why she remains one of the most feared fast bowlers in women’s cricket. Ismail is now alone at the top of the all-time Women’s T20 World Cup wicket-taking chart with 51 scalps, extending her lead over Australia’s Megan Schutt, who has 48 wickets.Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is third with 44 wickets, followed by England’s Anya Shrubsole (41) and South African team-mate Marizanne Kapp (39).Already South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker in international cricket, Ismail has also amassed 191 wickets in 127 women’s ODIs and 131 wickets in 119 T20Is, underscoring her remarkable longevity and consistency across formats.Most wickets in Women’s T20 World Cups

51 – Shabnim Ismail (SA)*
48 – Megan Schutt (AUS)
44 – Ellyse Perry (AUS)
41 – Anya Shrubsole (ENG)
39 – Marizanne Kapp (SA)

England recover from a fiery opening spell

Reflecting on his memorable opening spell, Ismail admitted that Jones’ dismissal came from a delivery that didn’t quite go to plan.“We knew she liked to dominate the side. Of course it wasn’t my best ball to be honest, but I’ll take it any day,” she said.Despite South Africa reducing England to 33/3 in the powerplay, Ismail acknowledged the game-changing partnership between Sciver-Brunt and Knight.“If we’re going to be talking about 33 from three, we’ll take that power play any day. Then of course we got Heather Knight and we got the captain there. The way they batted us spoke for itself,” she said.When asked what continues to motivate her after an outstanding international career, the veteran pacer credited those closest to her.“I definitely think my family and teammates keep me young and keep me going,” she said.While her historic milestone was one of the highlights of the semi-final, England ultimately had the final say. Led by Sciver-Brunt’s brilliant 75, they recovered from an early collapse to post 169/5 before restricting South Africa to 129/8, ending the Proteas’ campaign and setting up a title clash with unbeaten Australia at Lord’s.