5 part-time bowlers who took 4 or more wickets in an ODI vs India ft. Charith Asalanka
Team India have been brought down to their knees by a barrage of spin bowling while playing for the third consecutive day in the Asia Cup 2023. The Men in Blue are tottering at 197-9 in 47 overs, with a rain break currently halting the Sri Lankan juggernaut.
India skipper Rohit Sharma had won the toss earlier in the day and had opted to bat first. He had warned that the surface would be quite dry and ideal for spin bowling, which led him to announce Axar Patel as the third spinner in place of Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.
While the Indian opening batters enjoyed a prolific start with pacers initially on, they crumbled from 80-0 in the 12th over to 186-9 in the 43rd over. The damage was mostly inflicted by young left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, who ended up with figures of 10-1-40-5.
To combat the left-handed batters like Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in the lower-middle order, skipper Dasun Shanaka employed the use of part-time off-spinners like Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka, with the latter creating quite the impact.
On that note, let us take a look at 5 part-time bowlers who took 4 or more wickets in an ODI against the Men in Blue
#1 Charith Asalanka - Sri Lanka
Charith Asalanka registered figures of 4-18 off nine overs which included a maiden during the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. He accounted for the wickets of Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav.
The right-arm off-spinner was even on a hattrick after castling Bumrah and dismissing Kuldeep with the help of the slip fielder off consecutive deliveries.
He, however, could not record a historic hattrick as Mohammed Siraj fended off the crucial delivery. The tail-ender stood strong and denied a historic five-wicket haul for the part-time bowler.
#2 Saleem Malik - Pakistan
The legendary Pakistan batter was also a reliable part-time bowler, who would often roll his arm over when required. He was the pick of the bowlers for the Men in Green during the second ODI of a series in Canada between the two arch-rivals.
Malik finished with figures of 4-36 in 6.3 overs, dismissing Jatin Paranjape, Ajit Agarkar, Sunil Joshi, and Venkatesh Prasad.
His spell triggered a collapse as the Men in Blue lost their way from 143-4 while trying to chase down 247. Pakistan eventually won the clash by 51 runs.
#3 Steve Waugh - Australia
The former Australian captain would often step up with his medium pace to unsettle the opposition, and it paid off on one instance against the Men in Blue during the third match of the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah.
Steve Waugh's Australia had scored 264 runs in the first innings. Team India, in response, had the in-form Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 80 runs off 72 deliveries.
Tendulkar, however, lacked support from the other end as wickets fell at regular intervals and it was Waugh who put the final nail in the coffin with his spell. The part-time bowler picked up four wickets while conceding only 40 runs in nine overs.
He dismissed Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Harvinder Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, and Harbhajan Singh as India collapsed from 161-4 to 206 all out.
#4 Tillakaratne Dilshan - Sri Lanka
The right-arm off-spinner had the habit of taking wickets at crucial times, and India are just altogether familiar with his exploits, especially after dismissing Virat Kohli in the 2011 World Cup final.
However, his best bowling display against the Men in Blue came during the fourth match of the Indian Oil Cup in 2005.
Dilshan picked up figures of 4-29 off his 10 overs at the Dambulla International Stadium, where he removed VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, and Suresh Raina. He was the pick among the bowlers as the Men in Blue were restricted to 220-8 in the first innings.
Dilshan's spell proved to be in a winning cause as Sri Lanka chased down the total with two overs to spare.
#5 Sir Vivian Richards
The great Sir Vivian Richards was primarily known for his explosive and ruthless batting, but also dabbled with the ball often, not that the great West Indies bowling unit of the old needed it.
His best figures in ODI cricket came against India, during the eighth match of the Nehru Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in October 1989.
West Indies were held back to 196-9 in the first innings and India were cruising at 115-3 at one stage before Richards took over. Courtney Walsh and Malcolm Marshall took care of the top three, and it was all Richards after that. He finished with figures of 6-41 to bowl out India for 176.
Interestingly, Richards also claimed figures of 4-42 in an ODI against the Men in Blue at Trinidad in March 1989.
Who are some of the other part-time bowlers that have breached the Indian batting unit in ODIs? Let us know what you think.