5 times Mitchell Johnson single-handedly won the match for his team
Johnson is one of the greatest matchwinners in the current Australian teamOne of the most fearsome fast bowlers in the world, Mitchell Johnson, has finally decided to pull down the curtains on his successful international career. Since the retirement of stalwarts like Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, Johnson took over the mantle of being the leader of the Australian pace attack and carried the responsibility with great aplomb in the last few years of his career.With his exhilarating pace and ability to extract bounce, the Aussie pacer proved to be a terror for batsmen all over the world, especially in his home conditions. Another great talent that Mitchell Johnson has displayed on many occasions is the capability to win matches on his own for Australia.We take a look at 5 of his best match-winning performances:
#5 5 for 26 vs India, Vadodara, 2007
This performance deserves a special mention as it came against arguably the best batting line-up in ODIs at that time - Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni. Moreover, the match was being played in India's home conditions and Mitchell Johnson was relatively inexperienced at that point.
Having won the toss and elected to bat first, India got off to a disastrous start thanks to the fall of two early wickets with just 5 runs on the board. Johnson came to the party soon after as he ripped apart the Indian middle order with 3 quick wickets and reduced them to 5 for 43. He returned later to claim the 8th and 9th wicket and ensured that the innings ended for a paltry 148.
Australia strolled home by 9 wickets, getting the runs in just about 26 overs. This was one of Mitchell Johnson’s finest performances with the ball in ODI cricket.