Since its inception in 1975, the World Cup has witnessed some of the greatest actions in the history of cricket. There have been certain spells that have caught the attention of the people and critics from all around the world and in this article we will talk about the 'Top 10 bowling spells in the World Cup' which have made headlines for a long time.
1. Andy Bichel
In a World Cup game against Arch Rival England, Andy Bichel produced a magical spell of 7/20 in the 2003 World Cup. The spell wreaked havoc on the English side as the English side could manage to score just 208 runs in the 1st innings. Australia managed to win the game by two wickets.
2. Mitchell Starc
Starc bowled a wonderful spell against New Zealand in the group stage game in the 2015 World Cup. Defending 152, he picked six wickets and returned with the figure of 6/28. However, his effort went in vain as New Zealand managed to win by one wicket.
3. Ashish Nehra
In a group-stage game against England in the 2003 World Cup, India were defending 250 runs. Nehra then took matters into his own hands and took six wickets off England for just 23 runs and destroyed the English line-up. India won that match by 82 runs.
4. Shane Bond
Australia was facing Kiwis in the group stage game in the 2003 World Cup. In 1st innings, Bond destroyed the Aussie batting line-up as they could only manage 208 runs and he returned with figures of 6/23. However, Aus won the match as NZ were bowled out for 112 runs.
5. Gary Gilmour
In the 1st Semi-Final of the 1975 World Cup, Australia was up against the arch-rivals England. Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first on a bowling-friendly pitch and Glary Gilmour ran through the English batting line-up as he returned with the figures of 6/14 in 12 overs. England were bowled out for 93 runs. Australia won the match by four wickets.
6. T Southee
On a bowling-friendly Wellington pitch, New Zealand was up against England in the 2015 World Cup. England won the toss and elected bat first which proved to be disastrous as Southee bowled with lethal swings that were too hot to handle for English batter as England was bowled out for just 123 runs. Southee picked seven wickets for just 33 runs.
7. Wahab Riaz
India was facing Pakistan in the Semi-Finals of the World Cup. India was batting first and Wahab first took the wicket of dangerous Sehwag in the 6th over and in his second spell he produced a magical reverse swing and picked four more wickets as India scored 260. He returned with the figure of 46/5, but Pak lost the match.
8. Venkatesh Prasad
The arch-rivals India and Pakistan faced each other at Manchester in the 1999 World Cup. India could manage only 227 in the first innings, however in reply Pakistan was bowled for just 180 runs courtesy of a superb spell from Prasad who took five wickets for just 27 runs and derailed the Pakistani chase.
9. Glenn McGrath
In a group stage game against West Indies in the 1999 World Cup, McGrath destroyed the West Indies batting line-up on his own. He picked five crucial wickets and returned with figures of 14/5 as West Indies were bowled out for just 110 runs.
10. Collins Obuya
In a game between Sri Lanka and Kenya in the 2003 World Cup, Kenya gave Sri Lanka a target of 211 runs. It looked like an easy win for Sri Lanka, but Obuya had other plans. He destroyed the top order of Sri Lanka and picked five wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 157. He returned with the figure of 5/24 and won Man of the Match.
