Top Indian Bowling Performances In World Cups

In recent times, Indians have been dependent on their batting to make up for their lacklustre bowling. They are regarded as a batting-heavy side with a mediocre bowling attack that has not tasted success more often. We bring a few instances from the past World Cups where Indian bowlers have had the upper hand.

[tps_title]5. Yuvraj Singh vs. Ireland (2011)[/tps_title]

Bowling figures: 10-0-31-5

Yuvi was undoubtedly the best player in the 2011 World Cup, whose all-round performances helped India secure the trophy after 28 years. Put into bat , Ireland didn’t get off to a good start but a decent third wicket partnership steadied their ship. However, all hopes of recovery were shattered as Yuvraj demolished the Irish using his guile and spin, often deceiving the batsmen in flight or sending in the odd quicker one which went straight on with the arm. He picked up five crucial wickets including that of captain William Porterfield. He rounded of this performance with a well compiled half century to win the Man of the match.

[tps_title]4. Robin Singh vs. Sri Lanka (1999)[/tps_title]

Bowling figures: 9.3-0-31-5

This match is mainly known for the world record partnership between Ganguly and Dravid which propelled India to a mammoth score of 373 in 50 overs. However, during the Sri Lankan innings , an unlikely hero emerged for India with the ball as Robin Singh got rid of key players like De Silva and Captain Ranatunga after which he wrapped up the tail with relative ease.

Bowling figures: 12-2-43-5

Australia won the toss and chose to bat in the Group B match against India at Trent Bridge. Even though the Indians managed to get Wessels out early , Trevor Chappell and Kim Hughes played well to lay a good foundation for the middle order with the former scoring a match winning century to guide the Aussies to a formidable 320/9 in 60 overs. The only positive from the otherwise demoralizing defeat came from the splendid bowling effort from none other than skipper Kapil Dev, who went on to take a five wicket haul giving away just 43 runs in his 12 overs. 

Bowling figures: 9.3-2-27-5

Batting first, India put up a rather scrappy batting performance but somehow managed to reach a total of 227 with the help of half centuries from Dravid and Azharuddin . Nevertheless the target proved to be competitive on a pitch that had a lot for the fast bowlers and Venkatesh Prasad made full use of the conditions, troubling the Pakistani batsmen with an excellent display of swing bowling, picking up 5 for 27. He provided crucial breakthroughs at regular intervals and got the important wickets of Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-Ul-Haq , Moin Khan and Saleem Malik.[tps_title]1. Ashish Nehra vs. England in 2003[/tps_title]

Bowling figures: 10-2-23-6

The best bowling figures by an Indian in a world cup game. Ashish Nehra against England on that night seemed to be a completely different bowler, ripping apart the English batting order as they fell like a pack of cards. Batting first, India had posted 250 after which Nehra snatched 6 for 23 and wiped out England’s chase with his searing pace and swing. Its a pity that he was not able to reproduce that kind of form in the subsequent years. He did make a comeback into the Indian team in the 2011 WC but due to frequent injuries, fitness problems and lack of consistency, he played fewer matches than his potential merited.