ESPNcricinfo Awards 2022 T20 leagues bowling nominees: Thornton's birthday strikes, Rashid's six-for, and Umran's pace

Sunil Narine
2 for 15 vs Fortune Barishal
Final, Mirpur
Narine had top-scored in Comilla Victorians' total of 151 in the BPL final, and when he came on to bowl, he put the brakes on Fortune Barishal's chase with the big wicket of Chris Gayle in the 13th over. Even so, Barishal had Dwayne Bravo at the crease, and needed only 18 off 18 balls when Narine began his final over. With the first ball, he trapped Bravo leg-before, and conceded just two runs off the over. Victorians ended up winning the title by one run.

Shohidul Islam
3 for 33 vs Chattogram Challengers
Qualifier, Mirpur
In a knockout game, medium-pacer Shohidul gave Comilla Victorians an early edge by dismissing the tournament's highest run-getter, Will Jacks, cheaply. Then in the 19th over, he had Mehidy Hasan Miraz miscue a catch straight to a fielder, and three balls later, picked up his third wicket to restrict Challengers to a mediocre 148 that Victorians chased down with seven wickets to spare.

Mrittunjoy Chowdhury
4 for 12 vs Fortune Barishal
Chattogram
Fortune Barishal lost their last six wickets in the space of 19 balls for 17 runs largely thanks to 21-year-old left-arm medium-pacer Mrittunjoy Chowdhury's career-best performance. He came on at the death and tricked Barishal's top scorer, Shakib Al Hasan, with a change of pace, and then in his second over, he took three wickets in four balls, including diving to take an excellent catch himself.

Patrick Dooley
4 for 16 vs Perth Scorchers
Launceston
Defending a target of 173, left-arm wristspinner Patrick Dooley took wickets periodically to dent Perth Scorchers' chase. He bowled Faf du Plessis and trapped Nick Hobson lbw in his first two overs, and although Scorchers recovered from the two blows, he returned towards the end of the innings to dismiss John Inglis and Ashton Agar in the space of three balls. Hurricanes ended their losing streak to Scorchers with a tense eight-run win.

Henry Thornton
5 for 3 vs Sydney Thunder
Sydney
Fast bowler Henry Thornton's strikes bowled Sydney Thunder out for 15 - the lowest total in a professional T20 match. The innings lasted only 5.5 overs, nearly three of which were bowled by Thornton. His first wicket came thanks to a flying one-handed catch by Darcy Short at slip; for his next three he induced nicks outside off that were caught by the keeper, and the fifth was caught at point. It was a fine way to celebrate Thornton's 26th birthday.

Rashid Khan
6 for 17 vs Brisbane Heat
Brisbane
Legspinner Rashid, playing his 300th T20, took career-best figures to induce a collapse of 8 for 28 and bowl out Brisbane Heat for 90. His dominance was highlighted by the fact that five of the six batters he dismissed fell for ducks - Sam Heazlett, Jake Lehmann and Mujeeb Ur Rahman facing only one ball each. Rashid's figures in this game are the third-best in BBL history.

Kyle Mayers
4 for 4 vs St Lucia Kings
Basseterre
Mayers, who top-scored with 36, also opened the bowling for Barbados Royals and, by mixing yorkers with length balls, took four wickets in his first two overs - the second one a double-wicket maiden. Rain threatened to turn the game into a washout when Kings were 10 for 4, but after the delay, they were set a target of 93 from five more overs. However, Mayers had done enough damage and Kings lost the game by 11 runs.

Roston Chase
3 for 17 vs Trinbago Knight Riders
Tarouba
Offspinner Chase's early wickets had a huge impact on a game that St Lucia Kings ended up winning by only one run. Defending a total of 147, Chase came around the wicket and bowled opener Leonard Julien with an arm ball in the second over of the innings. In his next over, he tempted the hard-hitting Colin Munro with flight and then got Nicholas Pooran caught for a first-ball duck.

Fabian Allen
3 for 24 vs Barbados Royals
Final, Providence
Barbados Royals' openers, Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers, had scored over ten an over in the powerplay when left-arm spinner Allen arrested their momentum by dismissing them in consecutive overs - Cornwall falling to extra bounce and Mayers to one that stayed low and skidded onto his stumps. Allen returned at the death to dismiss Royals' top scorer, Azam Khan, who had jumped out of the crease early but could not come anywhere close to the slow and wide delivery Allen offered him.

Josh Little
5 for 13 vs Oval Invincibles
Manchester
Manchester Originals qualified for the men's Hundred eliminator thanks to a career-best five-for by left-arm seamer Little. In the space of three balls, he got Jordan Cox and Will Jacks to edge catches in the infield. Then, with 19 balls remaining in the innings and Invincibles looking set for a big total, Little removed top scorer Sam Billings for 53, and came back to dismiss Hilton Cartwright and Matt Milnes with short deliveries. Originals went on to win by six wickets.

Sam Cook
4 for 18 vs Manchester Originals
Final, Lord's
Medium-pacer Cook gave Trent Rockets the early breakthroughs in the Hundred final, dismissing Laurie Evans and Wayne Madsen cheaply inside the first 20 balls. Originals never got going after that, finishing at 120 for 9, with Cook also taking two wickets in the last 20 balls with well-placed yorkers.

Sunil Narine
3 for 11 vs Northern Superchargers
The Oval
In his first 15 balls, bowled over two sets, Narine conceded only ten runs and took a wicket. And though he dropped an easy catch off batter Adam Hose when Northern Superchargers were 117 for 3 in 74 balls, he made up by taking two wickets in two balls - getting Hose caught at backward point and trapping David Wiese lbw next ball.

Mohsin Khan
4 for 16 vs Delhi Capitals
Mumbai
Left-arm seamer Mohsin overcame some sloppy fielding to take a career-best four-for in Lucknow Super Giants' six-run win over Delhi Capitals. He dismissed David Warner early in the chase, but the Capitals middle order looked comfortable, steering the side towards the 196-run target. In the 13th over, Mohsin kept Rishabh Pant in check for three balls and then bowled him with a fuller delivery. He landed a more definitive blow when he returned to bowl his final over, the 17th of the innings, getting Rovman Powell and Shardul Thakur to slog his cutters straight to deep midwicket.

Umran Malik
5 for 25 vs Gujarat Titans
Mumbai
Sunrisers Hyderabad were defending a massive 195, but while Malik was unplayable, going for only 6.25 runs an over and taking five wickets, he didn't get a lot of support from his bowling partners, each of whom went wicketless while conceding more than eight runs an over. Malik bowled Shubman Gill and David Miller with fiery length balls; roughed up Hardik Pandya before getting him to top-edge a pull to third man; removed an on-song Wriddhiman Saha with a 152kph inswinging yorker; and bowled Abhinav Manohar with a fuller delivery that beat the bat and deflected onto the stumps off the batter's back leg.

Mohsin Khan
3 for 20 vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Mumbai
In a high-scoring match that Lucknow Super Giants won by two runs, Mohsin's early wickets had a significant impact on the result. Chasing 211, Kolkata Knight Riders lost their openers inside the first three overs with only nine runs on the board. Mohsin got a length ball to nip back in and take Venkatesh Iyer's inside edge on the way to the keeper, and a slower delivery accounted for Abhijeet Tomar in his next over. KKR's middle order fought back, but Mohsin rocked the chase by getting Andre Russell caught in the deep with another slower ball.

Kasun Rajitha
5 for 22 vs Dambulla Aura
Pallekele
Seamer Rajitha took a career-best five-for to bowl out Dambulla Aura for 89, the second-lowest total in the LPL. Four of his victims fell for ducks, including both openers in the first over of the match. His best was the dismissal of Tom Abell for a duck: bowled by a length delivery that seamed in and snuck between bat and pad to hit the top of off stump.

Kasun Rajitha
4 for 20 vs Kandy Falcons
Qualifier, Colombo
Rajitha again dismissed the openers in the first over of the match - Pathum Nissanka, trapped lbw with a full delivery that had some late away movement, and Andre Fletcher, beaten for pace and trapped in front for a first-ball duck. By the time Rajitha returned at the death to bowl his final over, Kandy Falcons had recovered from the early strikes thanks to a 92-run stand between Ashen Bandara and Wanindu Hasaranga. With his first ball, Rajitha broke the partnership, getting Bandara caught at deep midwicket off a slower ball. The next, also a slow one, dipped on Fabian Allen and crashed into the stumps.

Matthew Forde
4 for 11 vs Galle Gladiators
Colombo
In only his tenth T20 match, 20-year-old West Indian medium pacer Forde reduced Galle Gladiators to 31 for 3 in the powerplay, dismissing international batters Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando in consecutive overs, and later bringing Gladiators to their knees, to 87 for 8, with the wicket of Wahab Riaz in the 18th over.

Imran Tahir
2 for 8 vs Islamabad United
Lahore
Legspinner Tahir restricted an injury-hit Islamabad United to 105, a total Multan Sultans were able to overcome with six wickets to spare. Tahir came on to bowl after the powerplay and took a wicket with his third ball, inducing opener Nasir Nawaz to top-edge a catch to long-on. Tahir conceded only three runs each in his next two overs, and his figures would have been better if a catch off Danish Aziz had been held at slip. He picked up his second wicket at the death to reduce United to 77 for 7.

Wahab Riaz
2 for 19 vs Lahore Qalandars
Lahore
Defending 158, left-arm seamer Wahab kept things tight by maintaining an outside-off stump line, conceding seven runs in his one over in the powerplay and only two in his next. When he came on to bowl the 19th over, Lahore Qalandars needed 30 more to win. Wahab had Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Rauf caught off length balls and gave away only six runs. When the game went into a Super Over, Wahab, Peshawar Zalmi's captain, chose to bowl it himself. He conceded only five, which Zalmi's batters scored in two balls.

Shadab Khan
3 for 25 vs Quetta Gladiators
Lahore
In a match in which over 400 runs were scored, legspinner Shadab was not only the most economical bowler but also the top wicket-taker. He bowled a rampaging Jason Roy, looking to reverse-sweep, in the eighth over. After James Vince hit him for a six and a four, Shadab bowled him with a flatter delivery that slid in with the angle. He dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed in his final over, conceding only six more in the process.