There were several exceptional spells of bowling in ODIs in 2023 that narrowly failed to make it to Wisden’s top five men’s ODI spells of the year. Here are four such honourable mentions.
Josh Hazlewood vs South Africa
8-3-12-2, World Cup semi-final, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The conditions in Kolkata for the second semi-final of the 2023 World Cup were perfect for seam bowling. Hazlewood didn’t need a second invitation to exploit every bit out of them as he got the South African top order hopping and kept them on a leash. His first 15 balls fetched 12 dots before he got rid of Quinton de Kock playing what turned out to be his last ODI. Six overs later came his second wicket as Rassie van der Dussen edged one to second slip. Hazlewood came back for a second spell after breaking for just one over and didn’t conceded a single run off his last 12 deliveries. His miserly spell meant South Africa couldn’t post a big enough total and were eliminated at the World Cup semi-final stage once again.
Jasprit Bumrah vs Pakistan
7-1-19-2, World Cup Match No. 12, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Arguably the most-awaited clash of the year, India vs Pakistan at the World Cup turned out to be an one-sided affair in the end, courtesy partly of Bumrah’s high-quality spell in the middle overs. Fielding first on a slow surface, Pakistan seemed to be setting up a decent platform with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan at the crease before a slide brought them down from 155-2 to 166-5. Bumrah then bamboozled the well-set Rizwan with a world-class off cutter, castling his stumps and repeated the act an over later to remove Shadab Khan and all but end Pakistan’s hopes in the game.
Dunith Wellalage vs India
10-1-40-5, Asia Cup Match No. 10, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
The 20-year-old left-arm spinner who had captained Sri Lanka in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup ran through the cream of the Indian batting line up in the Asia Cup Super Fours game in Colombo. He cleaned up Shubman Gill with his first ball, got rid of Virat Kohli in his second over, and removed Rohit Sharma in his third. If that wasn’t enough, Wellalage came back in his second spell and got the wickets of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to complete his first five-for in ODI cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah vs England
6.5-1-32-3, World Cup Match No. 29, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow
Defending a relatively small total of 229, India needed to start well with the ball. Bumrah led the way, hooping the new ball around corners under lights. His first scalp was the dangerous Dawid Malan, who chopped on a back of length ball that was too close to cut. The very next ball, Bumrah trapped Joe Root plumb in front to send him packing for a rare golden duck. He then came back to pick the final wicket of the innings, a trademark yorker that crashed into Mark Wood’s stumps, taking India to a 100-run victory.
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