Hyderabad: Batsmen has always been on the center stage of any cricketing tournament. The statistician talks about the hundreds scored the fifties smashed and the six hits but anyone hardly talks about the bowlers.
But, it is a very famous saying in cricket that batmen win you matches and bowlers win you tournaments. Thus it proves that to win a big tournament like a World Cup where 10 countries will be taking part, bowlers play a vital role.
So, in this article, we will take you through the top five bowlers who have the highest number of wickets in the cricket world cup.
5. Zaheer Khan
Once MS Dhoni said that Zaheer Khan is the Sachin of Indian bowling, which is true as he was the backbone of Indian bowling for over a decade. The left-hand pacer was the joint highest wicket-taker of the 2011 World Cup with 21 scalps.Zaheer Khan is fifth on the list of most wickets in the World Cup. The former left-arm pacer scalped 44 wickets in 23 World Cup matches. He played three World Cups from 2003 to 2011.
4. Chaminda VaasChaminda Vaas is arguably one of the best pacers to have ever played for Sri Lanka. Vaas was not a speedster who would bowl at a speed of 140kmph but he instead used to rely on his line and length to make life hell for the batsman.The left arm pacer was on his peak in the 2003 world cup as he bagged 22 wickets in the tournanet.ended up with 49 wickets from 31 World Cup games. He was also part of Sri Lanka's 1996 winning team.The left arm pacer had an envious average of 21.22 in the world cups, the third-best among all Sri Lankan bowlers. Vaas had the best figures of 6/25 and 2 four-wicket hauls.
3. Wasim AkramThe third left-arm pacer in the list and probably one of the deadliest was Wasim Akram. The left arm speedster has scalped 55 wickets in 38 World Cup matches. He was a vital clog of Pakistan team's wheel which won the 1992 World Cup as he was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. On the night of final Akram helped his team win the trophy by dismissing England opener Ian Botham on a duck and followed up with two more wickets.
2. Muttiah MuralitharanMuttiah Muralitharan is the only spinner in this list as he has 68 wickets from 40 matches at an impressive average of 19.63, in the World Cup, which is the second best in this list. The off-spinner has the most number of wickets in both tests and ODIs.Muralitharan has played three World Cup finals out of which he ended up in the losing side in 2007 and 2011 world cups but won the 1996 World Cup. Murali had four-fers in world ups with the best figure of 4/19.
1. Glenn McGrathThe only right arm speedster of this list and one of the greatest seamer of his era, Glenn McGrath was one of the reasons why the mighty Australian team was able to dominate the cricketing world for over a decade.McGrath was an integral part of all three world cups which Australia won between 1999 and 2007 and no doubt why he tops this chart.McGrath picked 71 wickets in just 39 games at an average of 18.20. Glenn who was also known as pigeon was fondly remembered for his wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in 2003 final. With the best figure of 7/15, McGrath has 2 four-wicket hauls in World Cups.
