Best bowling performances of Imran Khan

Let’s have a look at the best bowling performances of Imran Khan. As one of the greatest all time bowlers, he is remembered for his ruthless bowling with sheer pace and ability to swing the ball. He is one of the most successful bowlers for Pakistan. The flamboyant Imran was one of the earliest exponents of reverse swing. He was capable of uprooting any batting order. Not only with the ball, but also with his bat he was fantastic. He is also one of the greatest all rounders of all time. Let us have a look at his best five:

     5. 3 for 37 & 7 for 40 vs England

Pakistan had an emphatic win over England in the thrid Test of the series and Imran Khan was the craftsman of this win. He took 7 wickets in the second innings which included 6 of the top seven English batsmen and helped Pakistan win by an innings. He also took the first 3 wickets in the first innings as well after which England never managed to stablize the innings and got all out for 136. This was the only match in the series which yielded a result.

 

     4. 6 for 14 vs India

6 wickets against India in the Rothmans Four Nations Cup in Sharjah in 1985 was the first five wicket haul of Imran Khan in ODIs and remained the only one. After inviting India to bat in the tournament opener, Imran blew away 6 Indian batsmen and for just 14 runs in his 10 overs. These incredible figures only shows how well he bowled in the match. But unfortunately Pakistan while chasing 126 lost their way and just ended up getting 87.

 

    3. 6 for 102 & 6 for 63 vs Australia

Pakistan had to win the third and the last Test of the series to save it. Australia unexpectedly chose to bat first and Imran Khan humbly obliged grabbing the opportunity to trouble the Australian batsmen in humid conditions. He ended up picking 6 wickets in the first innings for 102 runs. But this did not stop here, he still had fire in his belly. He came out all guns blazing in the second innings as well picking up 6 wickets to wrap up the Aussies for 180. Pakistan won the Test by 8 wickets.

 

    2. 7 for 80 & 4 for 41 vs West Indies

Imran inflicted the first loss for West Indies in more than 10 years in their own backyard. The Windies started as favourites but Imran was not ready to accept them as favourites. He bowled extraordinarily to take 7 wickets in the first innings. Pakistan scored a big total in reply to the small total posted by West Indies. In the second innings as well Imran Khan did not let loose and took four wickets because of which the West indies could merely set any target for Pakistan. The Asian Giants won by 9 wickets.

 

     1. 8 for 60 vs India

India were trailing by a big margin in their second innings of the second Test against Pakistan. The Indians had to hang in the middle not for long but for really long to at least save the match. But in front of an attacking Imran Khan, it proved to be a hefty task for them. Apart from some fight from Vengasarkar, Gavaskar and Madanlal, nobody could stand the sheer pace and swing of Imran who took 8 wickets in the innings and won the match for his team by an innings.