3 times a team used 9 bowlers in an ODI World Cup innings ft. India
Team India finished their league-stage campaign of the ongoing ICC men's ODI World Cup 2023 with another win as they thumped the Netherlands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, November 12.
Batting first, the Men in Blue made a humongous 410/4 in the first innings, with their first five batters all scoring 50+. While Rohit Sharma (61), Shubman Gill (51) and Virat Kohli (51) made half-centuries, Shreyas Iyer (128*) and KL Rahul (102) reached the three-figure mark.
In reply, a few Dutch batters did enjoy starts but failed to convert them into big scores. As a result, they were bundled out for 250, with India winning the encounter by 160 runs.
Interestingly, during the second innings, Rohit Sharma used nine different bowlers, which is the joint-most number of bowlers used by a team in an ODI innings. Barring Shreyas Iyer and wicket-keeper KL Rahul, all the remaining playing individuals bowled in the second innings.
Here's a look at the three times a team has used nine different bowling options during an ODI World Cup innings:
#3 England vs Sri Lanka in Peshawar at 1987 World Cup
England became the first team to use nine different bowlers during a World Cup match in 1987. They did so in a group stage match against Sri Lanka in Peshawar.
Batting first, England cruised to 296/4 in their 50 overs. Graham Gooch (84) and Mike Gatting (58) provided the foundation while Allan Lamb finished the innings with a 58-ball 76.
Due to some rain after the first innings, Sri Lanka had a revised target of 267 in 45 overs.
Sri Lanka succumbed to the scoreboard pressure and lost eight wickets with only 137 runs on the board. They eventually scored 158/8 in 45 overs and lost the match by 108 runs.
Fours bowlers - Phil DeFreitas (1/24), Derek Pringle (1/11), John Emburey (2/26) and Eddie Hemmings (2/31) - were amongst wickets for England. Apart from this, skipper Mike Gatting also used Gladstone Small, Graham Gooch, Bill Athey, Chris Broad, and Allan Lamb during the innings.
#2 New Zealand vs Pakistan in Christchurch at the 1992 ODI World Cup
New Zealand had already qualified for the semifinals of the 1992 World Cup when they met Pakistan in Match 34 at Christchurch. However, the Men in Green were in a do-or-die situation as they needed a win to book their berth in the final four.
Pakistan played some phenomenal cricket against New Zealand and bundled out the Kiwis for just 166 in the first innings. Wasim Akram recorded figures of 4/32 for Pakistan.
In reply, Danny Morrison reduced them to 9/2 before Ramiz Raja (119*) played one of his best knocks and came up with a brilliant century. Alongside Javed Javed Miandad, Raja frustrated the New Zealand bowling attack with some defensive batting.
While Ramiz negotiated 155 balls, Miandad batted at a strike rate of 35.29 (30 runs off 85 balls). After New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe completed the entire quota of Danny Morrison (3/42), Dipak Patel (0/25), Willie Watson (0/26), he gave four overs to Chris Harris (0/18) as well.
Apart from this, Gavin Larsen (0/16), Andrew Jones (0/10), Rod Latham (0/13), Ken Rutherford (0/11) and Mark Geatbatch (0/5) also bowled. Pakistan reached the target with seven wickets and 32 balls remaining.
#1 India vs Netherlands at the 2023 ODI World Cup in Bengaluru
The latest entrant on the list, Team India, also utilised nine different bowling options in their recent ODI World Cup 2023 fixture against the Netherlands in Bengaluru.
The Dutch side had the arduous task of chasing 411 in the second innings.
Mohammed Siraj (2/29) started the proceedings with a wicket in the second over, while Jasprit Bumrah also bagged two scalps for 33 runs. The two left-arm spinners, Ravindra Jadeja (2/49) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/41), also chipped in with timely wickets.
Surprisingly, Mohammed Shami remained the only frontline Indian bowler without a wicket.
During the Dutch innings, Rohit Sharma didn't shy away from experimenting and gave the fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium something to remember when he asked Virat Kohli to roll his arm over.
In the three overs he bowled, Kohli managed to take Scott Edwards' wicket. Shubman Gill (0/11) and Suryakumar Yadav (0/17) also bowled some off-spinners.
The Netherlands were 243/9 when Rohit decided to chance his arm in the 48th over. The Indian skipper, who already has 15 IPL wickets to his name, took the last wicket in the form of Teja Nidamanuru (54) as India registered a phenomenal 160-run victory.
During the post-match presentation, Rohit revealed that their use of nine different bowlers was something the team management wanted to do and had been planned earlier.