5 best bowling figures in World Cups ft. Mohammed Shami

The ICC Men's ODI World Cup witnessed a terrific bowling performance when Mohammed Shami wreaked havoc during his match-winning spell of 7/57 in the first semi-final between India and New Zealand.

The high-octane encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (November 15) saw the Men in Blue record their tenth consecutive win to enter the summit clash of the tournament.

After opting to bat first, India made a mammoth first-innings total of 397/4. The Indian top order once again did the bulk of the scoring, with Virat Kohli (117) and Shreyas Iyer (105) recording brilliant centuries.

Despite losing both Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra inside the powerplay, New Zealand were still in the hunt when Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson added 181 runs for the third wicket.

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However, Mohammed Shami had different plans in mind. The pacer, who took two wickets up top, returned and sent back Williamson to bring India back into the game. He bowled at perfect line and length and troubled the Kiwi batters throughout the innings.

Shami took a magical seven-wicket haul to see India win the encounter by 70 runs. With his spell of 7/57, Shami became one of the players with the best bowling figures in the history of ODI World Cups.

On that note, let's take a look at the top five bowling figures in men's ODI World Cup history, and see where Shami ranks on the list.

#5 Mohammed Shami - 7/57 vs New Zealand in the first semi-final of 2023 ODI World Cup

Mohammed Shami celebrating the wicket of Daryl Mitchell [Getty Images]

Just 24 days after his brilliant fifer against New Zealand in a group stage match in Dharamsala, Mohammed Shami once again haunted the Kiwi unit.

The Indian speedster claimed a magical seven-wicket haul, this time in the semi-final of the tournament in Mumbai. With his world-class seam bowling with the new ball, he sent back Devon Conway on his very first ball of the innings.

In his next over, Rachin Ravindra also lost his wicket against Shami, who got India off to a wonderful start. However, a match-turning partnership of 181 runs between Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell brought New Zealand back into the hunt.

With India in desperate need of a wicket, Rohit Sharma turned to Shami, who didn't disappoint. The 33-year-old sent back Williamson on 69, after which the entire crowd erupted in jubilation. One ball later, he struck one to Tom Latham's pads as well to end the left-hander's stay for a duck.

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Despite Williamson's dismissal, Mitchell continued his onslaught and made a remarkable century. He made 134 before Shami came back for his third spell. He delivered the killer blow by dismissing Mitchell and also completing his fifer in the meantime.

Shami cleaned up the remaining wickets as well and ended up with a match-winning 7/57, which is now the best bowling spell by an Indian in one-day history, let alone in the ODI World Cups.

#4 Winston Davis - 7/51 vs Australia at 1983 World Cup

The first-ever bowler to take seven wickets in a single ODI World Cup game was Winston Davis. The West Indies pacer took 7/51 against Australia in Match 7 of the 1983 World Cup in Leeds.

Despite being a gifted pacer, Davis was born during a time when the West Indies had a wealth of exceptional quicks at their disposal.

As a result, he could only play 35 ODIs for the Windies. Despite the limited opportunities, Davis holds the record for bowling the best figures for the West Indies in ODI history.

After the Windies batters set a target of 253, the record spell gave the Island Nation a 101-run win. Davis completely broke the back of the Aussie middle order. He dismissed the likes of Kim Hughes, Graham Yallop, David Hookes and Allan Border.

#3 Tim Southee - 7/33 vs England at 2015 ODI World Cup

Tim Southee during England v New Zealand - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup [Getty Images]

One of the best-ever individuals to play for New Zealand, Tim Southee, had a mixed outing against India in the semi-final in Mumbai. He took three important wickets but leaked as many as 100 runs in his spell.

While it is certainly going to be his last ODI World Cup, his most lethal performance came when Southee claimed 7/33 in a league game against England at the 2015 edition.

Eoin Morgan won the toss and opted to bat. Southee dismissed both English openers, Ian Bell and Moeen Ali, in quick succession and later came back to run through the middle and lower order. England lost seven of their last wickets for just 19 runs to fold up for a meagre 123.

Southee utilized the great bowling conditions in Wellington and troubled the English batters with some outstanding swing and change of pace. While there were some poor shots from English batters as well, full credit must be given to Southee, who repaid the faith placed in him by his captain with some brilliant and often unplayable deliveries.

#2 Andy Bichel - 7/20 vs England at 2003 ODI World Cup

Andy Bichel of Australia celebrates the wicket of Paul Collingwood of England [Getty Images]

Andy Bichel made his debut for Australia in the year 1997 but couldn't solidify his spot with consistent performances. He made a comeback in the year 2002 and became a vital asset for the Kangaroos owing to his all-round abilities.

In a crucial league-stage fixture against arch-rivals England, Bichel deceived the English batters with his pace and seam movement. The England innings collapsed from 66/0 to 87/5 in just eight overs.

So impeccable was his line and length that day, that of the seven wickets, five were dismissed either bowled or caught behind. He sent back Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain inside one over before removing Paul Collingwood a few moments later.

Bichel returned to strike in the death overs and the then-32-year-old dismissed Andrew Flintoff and Alec Stewart in back-to-back overs.

Bichel ended with figures of 7/20 in 10 overs. Chasing 205, Australia were down to 135-8 when Bichel walked in. Bichel scored a 38-ball 34, in a 73-run unbeaten partnership with Michael Bevan, making this one of the finest all-round World Cup performances of all time.

#1 Glenn McGrath - 7/15 vs Namibia at 2003 ODI World Cup

Glenn McGrath vs Namibia at 2003 WC [Getty Images]

An out-and-out legend of the game, Glenn McGrath still hosts the record of delivering the best bowling figures in ODI World Cup history. The Aussie dynamite returned with a special spell of 7/15 in Match 31 of the 2003 ODI World Cup against Namibia.

McGrath was one of the hardest bowlers to deal with owing to his perfect length and line. The Namibian batters found it in an extremely hard way as they surrendered against some top-quality performance by McGrath.

At an economy rate of 2.14, McGrath destroyed Namibia in just seven overs of his bowling, a spell that included 4 maiden overs. The associate nation were skittled out for a mere 45 in 14 overs as Australia won the encounter by 256 runs.