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TOP 10 BOWLING ANALYSIS BY INDIAN BOWLERS

1.Sunil Joshi's 5 for 6 against South Africa in 2000 at Nairobi

Joshi's outstanding spell of 5 for 6 against the strong South African side is the best ODI spell ever by an Indian bowler. It was one of the most economical complete spells ever bowled in international cricket. In addition, the quality of wickets was amazing (Dippenaar, Gibbs, Cronje, Rhodes and Pollock). Also Cronje was dismissed at 2, Rhodes at 1 and Pollock at 0. There was not even a single low order wicket. Joshi's spell is also at No.7 in the all time list of ODI bowling analysis.

2.Madan Lal's 3 for 31 in the Final of World Cup 1983

The most important bowling performance by an Indian bowler in the most important match India has ever played. This is one of the greatest of unsung bowling spells ever. India were the underdogs and managed to put up a total of 183. Then Madan Lal took three top West Indian wickets and led the way for a great Indian win. The wickets taken by Madan Lal were those of Richards, Lloyd and Gomes. It is difficult to imagine a more significant collection of wickets. Even though Amarnath won the man of the match award, it was Madan Lal's spell, which won the match for India. In a low scoring match, the accuracy of Madan Lal's bowling was very important. Madan Lal's great spell is also the 10th in the all time ODI List of bowling analysis.

3.Anil Kumble's 6 for 12 against West Indies in the Hero Cup Final in 1993

This is the third best bowling performance by an Indian bowler in ODIs. The Hero Cup Final was the occasion. Kumble bowled only 6.1 overs. The quality of wickets secured by Kumble was not outstanding with only Hooper and Adams being top batsmen. India was also defending a moderate total of 225. The legendary accuracy of Kumble was partly responsible for moving up to this high position, as also the importance of the match. This great spell is 13th in the all time list of bowling analysis.

4.Tendulkar's 5 for 32 against Australia in 1997-98

Surprisingly it is a non-regular bowler's analysis, which is the fourth in the Indian list of top ODI bowling performances. (The other side of the argument is that a bowler who has captured more than 100 wickets cannot be called a non-regular bowler!). The reason why this performance has leap-frogged over many other performances is the quality of wickets taken. Tendulkar dismissed Steve Waugh, Bevan, Lehmann, Moody and Martyn. Each of these 5 is a match-winning batsman. The accuracy of the bowling spell is another significant factor. This excellent spell is 35th in the all time list of bowling analysis.

5.Prasad's 5 for 27 against Pakistan in the Super Six match of World Cup 1999

An important match and an important win. India managed to put up a moderate 227 against a strong Pakistani team. Prasad took the important wickets of Saeed Anwar, Salim Malik, Inzamam, Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. Like Tendulkar's spell referred to earlier, each of these is a match winner. Prasad's accuracy was also a factor in pushing this spell into the Top 5. Prasad, who was well supported by Kumble later with some very tight bowling, consolidated Srinath's early break throughs. It was a great win and maintained India's 100% record against Pakistan in World Cups. This great spell is 52nd in the all time list of bowling analysis.

The remaining 5 places are summarized below.

6. Ganguly S C 5 for 34 vs Zimbabwe, 2000.

7. Prabhakar M 5 for 35 vs Sri Lanka, 1994

8. Ganguly S C 5 for 16 vs Pakistan, 1997

9. Amarnath M 3 for 12 vs West Indies, 1983

10. Arshad Ayub 5 for 21 vs Pakistan, 1988

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