Bangladesh's top 3 wicket-takers against India in ODI World Cups ft. Mustafizur Rahman
Bangladesh can be called one of India's bogey teams in ODI cricket, and they have proved to be tricky opponents for India to get past. In fact, India has lost three out of the last four ODIs they've played against their neighbors, and won't take them lightly when they lock horns in the 2023 World Cup on Thursday, October 19.
India does have a much better record against them at the World Cup, leading 3-1, but they will certainly not forget their defeat in their first-ever World Cup meeting in 2007. It's safe to say that Bangladesh has saved their best for matches against India and have produced some splendid performances in the past with both bat and ball.
Let's look at some of the individuals responsible for such performances and find out who Bangladesh's top wicket-takers against India in World Cups are.
#3 Mohammed Rafique: 1 Match, 3 Wickets
Bangladesh's Mohammed Rafique's left-arm spin was a crucial reason for their shock win that sent India crashing out of the 2007 Men's ODI World Cup. A very experienced and well-known name in Bangladesh cricket, Rafique played in 125 ODIs, but that match should rank among his best.
He picked up the big wicket of the Indian captain Rahul Dravid, got MS Dhoni out for a duck, and also got the well-set Sourav Ganguly to hole out after a half-century, helping Bangladesh to bowl India out for 192 and finishing with figures of 10-2-35-3.
While he didn't play against India at the ODI World Cup after that, his spell will remain fresh in the minds of cricket fans.
#2 Mashrafe Mortaza: 3 Matches, 5 Wickets
Mashrafe Mortaza is one of the best players to ever play for Bangladesh. A real warrior, he managed to overcome countless injury setbacks to continue playing at the highest level for his country for nearly 19 years.
Mortaza was a part of Bangladesh's World Cup squad in the 2007, 2015, and 2019 editions. He missed out on a spot in the 2011 squad after suffering a knee ligament injury.
Across his three WC clashes against India, he managed to pick up five wickets, with four of those coming in the famous win in 2007 at Port of Spain.
Similar to Mohammed Rafique, Mortaza picked up some key wickets with the new ball, getting Virender Sehwag and Robin Uthappa early to reduce India to 21/2 in the seventh over. He later helped Bangladesh prevent the Indian tail from adding more runs to their total, getting Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel out to add a four-wicket haul to his name.
While he went wicketless against India in the 2019 World Cup, he did get the big wicket of Suresh Raina in the 2015 edition. However, he was expensive, finishing with figures of 1/69 in his ten overs.
#1 Mustafizur Rahman: 1 Match, 5 Wickets
One of the best players in this current Bangladesh side, Mustafizur Rahman has featured in only one World Cup match against India but sits at the top of this list after picking up a five-fer in that fixture.
Making his debut a few months after the conclusion of the 2015 World Cup, Mustafizur quickly became the best pacer in that Bangladesh side and has retained that position until now. In his only clash against India at the ODI World Cup, the 'Fizz' bowled brilliantly.
After Rubel Hossain and Soumya Sarkar removed KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma after their mammoth opening partnership, Mustafizur took care of the rest of the Indian batting order. He took the big wicket of Virat Kohli before wiping out the Indian middle-order all by himself, dismissing MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, and Hardik Pandya, before completing his five-wicket haul by casting Mohammed Shami.
He's the only player on this list who is taking part in the 2023 World Cup and he'll want to repeat his heroics from 2019.