5 times a batter won the Player of the Match award in an ODI for his bowling performance ft. Sachin Tendulkar
Team India continued their trend of gifting wickets to part-time bowlers of the opposition in the third ODI against Australia. Part-time off-spinner Glenn Maxwell became the latest beneficiary in Rajkot on September 27.
Maxwell picked up 4/40 in his 10 overs to help Australia bowl out India for 286 from a dominant position of 144/1 while chasing 353. His bowling heroics helped Australia stave off their first ODI series whitewash against the Men in Blue.
While losing wickets in any shape or form is undesirable, it becomes all the more demoralizing to a batting lineup when a batter who bowls part-time produces a Player of the Match performance.
India has produced many batters who have won matches rolling their arm over. However, they have also suffered a similar fate against cricketers like Aravinda de Silva, Tilakaratne Dilshan, and Chris Gayle, among others.
Ironically, there have been calls for a lack of bowling options among Indian batters heading into the World Cup, a quality the side used to boast plenty of in the 1990s and 2000s.
Here, we look back at five times a batter won the Player of the Match award in an ODI for his bowling performance.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 5/32 vs Australia, 1998
How unfair is it that arguably the most accomplished batter also won matches with the ball? Team India and its fans rejoiced just that with Sachin Tendulkar during his 24-year international career.
Despite being the all-time leading run-scorer in Tests and ODIs, the Little Master picked up 200 wickets in his international career, including 146 scalps in ODIs. Tendulkar also picked up two five-wicket hauls in the 50-over format, with the first coming against Australia in 1998.
It was the first match of the tri-series featuring Zimbabwe, and the hosts scored 309/5 in their 50 overs at Kochi. In reply, the mighty Aussies were going strong at 203/3 in 31 overs when Tendulkar single-handedly turned the game on its head with the ball in hand.
The legendary cricketer picked up the next four wickets and five of the next six in a 12-over stretch to help India win the game by 41 runs. His bag included the prized scalps of Steve Waugh, Micheal Bevan, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, and Tom Moody, earning him the Player of the Match award.
Although India went on to lose in the final against Australia, it was the start of arguably the best month of cricket Tendulkar's career. He later avenged the defeat with back-to-back centuries in the tri-series that followed at Sharjah.
Apart from tormenting the Australians with over 3,000 ODI runs and nine centuries in his illustrious career, the champion batter also picked up 20 wickets.
#2 Sourav Ganguly - 5/16 vs Pakistan, 1997
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was celebrated for his glorious off-side play and assaults with dancing shoes on the spinners during his playing days. However, his exploits with the ball in the five-match ODI against Pakistan in Canada in 1997 rank among the finest moments of his stellar career.
With his right-arm medium-pace bowling, Ganguly picked up two wickets in India's wins in the first two games. He followed it with a stunning five-wicket haul in the next outing.
With Pakistan in a must-win situation, they bowled India out cheaply for a mere 182 in the third ODI. However, Ganguly ripped through the Pakistan middle-order with incredible figures of 5/16 in his 10 overs, including three maidens. He led India to a 34-run win and an unassailable 3-0 series lead.
The champion cricketer was awarded the Player of the Match and finished the series as the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker, with 222 runs and 15 scalps in five games.
Despite being celebrated mainly for his batting with over 11,000 ODI runs, Ganguly was underrated as a bowler, picking up 100 wickets at an average of 38.49 in his 50-over career.
#3 Virender Sehwag - 3/25 vs South Africa, 2002
Virender Sehwag's heroics with the ball in the semi-finals of the 2002 Champions Trophy against South Africa remains etched in the memories of every Indian fan.
The Men in Blue scored a competitive 261/9 in 50 overs in the knockout game on a two-paced wicket in Colombo. However, the Protea batters, Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, looked in ominous touch to erase their semi-final failures. The duo added 178 runs for the second wicket before Gibbs was forced to retire hurt with cramps.
South Africa was still in complete control, requiring a mere 62 from 60 deliveries with seven wickets left.
With the game seemingly slipping away, skipper Sourav Ganguly introduced part-time off-spinner Virender Sehwag to bowl in the final 10 overs.
Renowned for his destructive batting, the champion cricketer picked up the vital wicket of Mark Boucher in his second over. Sehwag maintained a tremendous line and length at the perfect pace, making it impossible for the South African batters to score.
With the Proteas needing 21 runs in the final over, Sehwag removed both Kallis and Lance Klusener to help India record one of their most cherished comeback victories by ten runs.
The now-44-year-old picked up 96 wickets in his ODI career, including best figures of 4/6 against Bangladesh in the 2010 Asia Cup.
#4 Chris Gayle - 5/46 vs Australia, 2003
The Universe Boss Chris Gayle has won many matches with his unmatched six-hitting and batting displays. Yet, it is often forgotten how valuable the tall Jamaican was with his off-spinners, especially in the first half of his career.
The 44-year-old, in addition to scoring over 10,000 ODI runs, boasts an impressive bowling record with 167 wickets, including three four-wicket and a five-wicket haul.
In 2003, Gayle picked up his only fifer in 50-over cricket in the final ODI of the seven-match series at home against Australia. He bagged the wickets of Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, and Micheal Clarke, among others, to restrict Australia to 247/8.
The legendary cricketer followed his heroics with the ball and scored 60 off 68 deliveries in West Indies's successful run chase to win the Player of the Match.
#5 Aamer Sohail - 4/22 vs Sri Lanka, 1995
There is more to former Pakistan skipper Aamer Sohai's career than his infamous incident with Venkatesh Prasad in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final against India.
An elegant left-handed batter, Sohail, could also tighten the screws in the middle overs with left-arm spin bowling. He produced his best ODI bowling spell in the 1995 Singer Champions Trophy tri-series against Sri Lanka in Sharjah.
Following an impressive 85 that helped Pakistan reach 264 in their 50 overs, Sohail picked up 4/22 in his eight overs to help the side win by 82 runs. His scalps included Asanka Gurusinha, skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tilakaratne, and the dangerous Romesh Kaluwitharana, earning him the Player of the Match.
Apart from his 4,780 ODI runs, Sohail also picked up a credible 85 wickets at an economy rate of only 4.59 in 156 games.