5 best bowling performances in ODI World Cup finals ft. Shane Warne
The 2023 ODI World Cup final will be played between hosts India and five-time champions Australia on November 19 in Ahmedabad. It will be a great contest of bat vs ball, as the stadium is known to produce pitches that don't favor the batters too much.
In the matches played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in this ODI World Cup, no team has crossed the 300-run mark. Moreover, neither the team batting first nor the team batting second has any sort of advantage.
Bowlers have performed pretty well at the ongoing ODI World Cup. A total of seven five-wicket hauls and 18 four-wicket hauls have been registered, despite the tournament producing some really high-scoring matches.
With the likes of Mohammad Shami (23 wickets) and Adam Zampa (22 wickets) playing in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, some good bowling performances can be expected.
On that note, let's dive into the top five bowling performances in the ODI World Cup finals.
#5 Gary Gilmour - 5/48 vs West Indies (1975)
Australian pace bowler Gary Gilmour kicks off the list at number five. The left-arm fast-medium bowler picked up a fifer against the West Indies in the 1975 ODI World Cup final. However, he ended up losing the match, which is why he ranks so low on the list.
Gilmour dismissed Alvin Kallicharran, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, and Deryck Murray. Bowling two maiden overs as well as picking up four crucial wickets constituted one of Gilmour's finest bowling spells. Australia fell 18 runs short of the target, which denied a potential Man of the Match award for Gilmour.
#4 James Faulkner - 3/36 vs New Zealand (2015)
James Faulkner is one of those cricketers that fans won't ever forget. A proper all-rounder, Faulkner was never out of the game. His peak years in cricket were in the mid-2010s, and one of his most memorable performances came in the 2015 ODI World Cup final.
The left-arm pacer picked up the important wickets of Ross Taylor (40), Grant Elliott (83), and Corey Anderson (0). His 3/36 bowling figures helped Australia restrict their Trans-Tasman rivals to a meager total of 183. Needless to say, the Kangaroos chased down the total with ease.
#3 Wasim Akram - 3/49 vs England (1992)
Wasim Akram has won many matches for Pakistan, but none were more important than the 1992 ODI World Cup final against England. The Men in Green scored 249/6 in the first innings, which included an 18-ball, 33-run cameo by Akram.
In the second innings, the Sultan of Swing got rid of Ian Botham for a duck before taking the wickets of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis in consecutive deliveries of the 35th over. This bowling performance is special as it helped Pakistan win their only ODI World Cup so far.
#2 Joel Garner - 5/38 vs England (1979)
Joel Garner was influential in the West Indies' second ODI World Cup win in 1979. Viv Richards scored a fantastic century in the first innings for the Caribbean nation to post a total of 286/9. Chasing such a high total was already a task, but Garner made things even more difficult.
The Big Bird dismissed Graham Gooch and David Gower in quick succession to reduce England to 186-5. Prior to the fall of these two wickets, England were still in the match. The 6'8" pacer picked up the wickets of Wayne Larkins, Chris Old, and Bob Taylor (all three ducks), and England were all out for 194.
#1 Shane Warne - 4/33 vs Pakistan (1999)
Just like Australia won the 2015 World Cup due to their impressive bowling, they also won the 1999 World Cup for the same reason. Pakistan were all out for just 132 runs, courtesy of some high-quality bowling by the Aussies.
Shane Warne's figures read 4/33 as he picked up the wickets of Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan, Shahid Afridi, and Wasim Akram. Australia chased down the paltry total in just 20.1 overs, as Warne was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling exploits.