5 most memorable bowling performances by Team India against England in ODIs
With the Tests and T20Is series in the bag, Team India are all set to take on England in a three-match ODI series next.
A confident Team India outfit arrived on Sunday in Pune, where all the three one-dayers will be held. The hosts came from behind to win both the Tests and the T20Is series.
History shows that Team India have done reasonably well against England in one-dayers. They have won 53 of the 100 ODI games played between the teams. At home, their record is even better. Team India have defeated the Englishmen in 31 of 48 games.
Bowlers have played key roles in Team India’s ODI triumphs over England. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (not playing this series) is the team's top wicket-taker against England in ODIs. He has claimed 37 scalps in 22 matches, which is one better than that of Harbhajan Singh (36 in 23).
Five best ODI spells by Team India bowlers against England
A number of Team India bowlers have come up with memorable bowling efforts against England in ODIs. On that note, let's take a look at five o the best of them.
#5 Javagal Srinath - 5 for 41 (Bengaluru, February 1993)
Team India pacer Javagal Srinath ran through England with figures of 5 for 41 in the fourth ODI of the seven-match series against England in February 1993.
After England got off to a sedate start, Srinath sent back both the openers Robin Smith (29) and Alec Stewart (14). He cleaned up Mike Gatting as well for 7 as England crumbled to 79 for 3. Later in the innings, the Team India medium-pacer bowler returned to claim the wickets of Chris Lewis (19) and Phil DeFreitas (2).
Graeme Hick’s 56 and England captain Graham Gooch’s 45 lifted England to 218 for 9.
Team India should have been confident about winning the game after Srinath’s heroics with the ball. However, England pacer Paul Jarvis picked up 5 for 35 to stun India.
After Manoj Prabhakar was run out for a duck, Navjot Sidhu (40) and Vinod Kambli (33) helped Team India recover with a second-wicket stand of 61. Jarvis, however, broke the stand, having Kambli caught behind.
He then trapped Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin lbw for one and also added the scalps of Pravin Amre, Kiran More and Anil Kumble, running through the lower order.
Team India were bowled out for 170 to lose the match by 48 runs. It was not to be the first time Srinath’s brilliance would go in vain.
#4 S Sreesanth - 6 for 55 (Indore, April 2006)
S Sreesanth had quite an erratic international career. However, those who saw him bowl at his peak would agree that, on his day, he was a genius with the ball.
In the final ODI of the seven-match series against England in April 2006, Sreesanth came up with one of his few memorable performances in limited-overs cricket.
After Team India sent England into bat, Sreesanth struck crucial blows for the team. He had the dangerous Andrew Strauss caught behind for 25 and bounced out Matt Prior for two.
Fifties from Kevin Pietersen (64), Paul Collingwood 64) and Geraint Jones (53) put England in command. They were 257 for 4 in the 46th over when Sreesanth induced an edge from Jones.
He followed it up by running through the lower order, dismissing Ian Blackwell, Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood in quick succession. As a result, England, who were looking set for a 300-plus score, were restricted to 288.
Team India got home by seven wickets, courtesy a memorable debut by Robin Uthappa (86 off 96). Rahul Dravid (69), Yuvraj Singh (63*) and Suresh Raina (53) all chipped in as the hosts chased down their target rather comfortably.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav - 6 for 25 (Nottingham, July 2018)
Back in 2018, Kuldeep Yadav was the next big thing in Indian cricket. He was bamboozling opponents with his left-arm wrist-spin and variations. How drastically his fortunes have changed of late!
Coming back to the Nottingham game that year, Team India bowled first after winning the toss in the first ODI of the three-match series. England got off to a rollicking start, as openers Jason Roy (38) and Jonny Bairstow (38) added 73 for the opening wicket.
However, once Yadav got into the thick of things, the complexion of the game completely turned. Roy fell to the left-arm wrist-spin bowler while going for an ungainly reverse sweep. Joe Root (3) and Bairstow were both trapped in front of the stumps in the same over.
England staged a fightback courtesy Ben Stokes (50) and Jos Buttler (53). However, Yadav again brought Team India back into the contest, dismissing both the well-set batsmen. Buttler was stifled down the leg while Stokes perished to the reverse sweep, brilliantly caught by Siddarth Kaul at backward point.
Yadav added a sixth scalp when he had David Willey caught at deep midwicket for one as Team India restricted England to 268. Rohit Sharma (137*) and Virat Kohli (75) then starred with the bat as the visitors romped home by eight wickets.
#2 Harbhajan Singh - 5 for 31 (Delhi, March 2006)
Not often, a total of 203 is defended successfully in Indian conditions in one-dayers. Harbhajan Singh, however, helped Team India achieve the same in the first ODI of their seven-match series against England in 2006.
England were favourites to win after restricting a strong Team India batting lineup to just over 200. However, with the ball, Irfan Pathan got India off to a brilliant start, dismissing Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah in the first over, after which Harbhajan Singh took control of the proceedings.
The off-spinner had Matt Prior caught for 22 as the wicketkeeper-batsman mistimed a slog sweep. After Yuvraj Singh accounted for Kevin Pietersen (46), the Turbanator trapped England captain Andrew Flintoff lbw for 41.
At 117 for 5, it was anybody’s game, but Harbhajan Singh turned the match decisively in Team India’s favour as he ran through the England lower order. He cleaned up Geraint Jones for a duck and had Ian Blackwell caught playing the sweep.
Paul Collingwood perished at bat-pad as the Turbanator completed a five-for. From 117 for 3 at one point, England crumbled to 164 all out. Apart from Harbhajan Singh’s five, Pathan also impressed with 3 for 21. Yuvraj Singh was also among the wickets, taking 2 for 32.
Earlier in the day, Harbhajan Singh top-scored for Team India with 37 to take the hosts past 200.
#1 Ashish Nehra - 6 for 23 (Durban, 2003 World Cup)
Undoubtedly, Ashish Nehra delivered the best spell by a Team India bowler against England in ODIs. That came in a World Cup clash too! Ashish Nehra ran through the English batting lineup with stupendous figures of 6 for 23.
Despite fifties from Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, England did well to restrict Team India to 250 for 9 after Sourav Ganguly had won the toss. However, with Nehra running riot, the Englishmen fell way short of their target.
Zaheer Khan got the early breakthrough for Team India, having Marcus Trescothick caught at square leg for eight. That was after Nick Knight ran himself out for one.
If England thought they were in trouble at 18 for 2, Nehra only made matters worse for them, coming up with his best spell in international cricket.
The left-arm seamer had Michael Vaughan (20) and Nasser Hussain (15) caught behind with probing deliveries outside the off-stump. He also trapped Alec Stewart lbw first-ball as the batsman played across a straight delivery.
Paul Collingwood (18) gave a simple catch to second slip as Nehra got the ball to move away with the angle. Craig White was then caught behind for 13 as the left-arm pacer completed a five-for. He made it six when he induced an edge off Ronnie Irani (0).
Courtesy Ashish Nehra’s brilliance, England were bowled out for 168 in the 46th over as Andrew Flintoff's valiant 64 went in vain.