Fast and furious: Five best bowling performances in World Cups

For any team in cricket, the ODI World Cup is the biggest tournament which they aim for winning. Since the tournament happens after a long gap of 4 years, every player wants to contribute his best to the team. A bowlers’ performance in the World Cup is very critical for the team. In this article, we are going to list out top-5 bowling performances in the ODI World Cup history.

5.Gary Gilmour – 6/14 vs England, 1975

England met Australia in the semi-final match of the first-ever ODI World Cup which was earlier called as Prudential World Cup. The English team was bowled out for a tiny total of 93 runs while batting first. Australian pacer Gary Gilmour demolished the batting lineup of England as he picked up 6 wickets in his 12 overs giving away only 14 runs. Australia won this match by 4 wickets as they chased down the total in 28.4 overs. Gilmour was awarded player of the match for his incredible performance with the ball.

4.Winston Davis – 7/51 vs Australia, 1983

West Indies decimated Australia in the league match of the World Cup 1983 with the help of brilliant bowling from Winston Davis. West Indies had posted a score of 252/9 while batting first which included a half-century from Larry Gomes. Chasing this total, Australia had once scored 114 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. However, Winston Davis demolished the Aussie team as he picked up 7 wickets for 51 runs in 10.3 overs. Australia were bowled out for 151 runs thus losing the match by 101 runs.

3.Tim Southee – 7/33 vs England, 2015

Kiwi pacer Tim Southee set the stage on fire in the World Cup 2015 when he picked 7 wickets for 33 runs in 9 overs. He registered these figures against England in the group match. England got all-out for 123 runs while batting first, and the hosts chased down the total in only 12.2 overs. Captain Brendon McCullum played an explosive knock of 77 runs off 25 balls with the help of 8 fours and 7 sixes.

2.Andy Bichel – 7/20 vs England, 2003

Australia beat England in a thriller match during ICC World Cup 2003 held in South Africa. England had scored 204/8 in 50 overs while batting first. Australian pacer Andy Bichel registered excellent figures of 7/20 in his 10 overs. Australia chased this total in 49.4 overs at the loss of 8 wickets with a fine knock of 74 runs from Michael Bevan. Bichel was chosen as the player of the match for his amazing bowling performance.

1.Glenn McGrath – 7/15 vs Namibia, 2003

Australia’s legendary pacer Glenn McGrath holds the record for registering best bowling figures in a World Cup game. In the 2003 World Cup game against Namibia, the Australian team had scored 301/6 while batting first. For them, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and Darren Lehmann hit the fifties. Chasing the target, the Namibia team got dismissed for only 45 runs. McGrath was awarded player of the match for taking his team to a huge victory of 256 runs.