| Player | Opposition | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | Pakistan | 65 | 63 | 96 | 25.25 |
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | Sri Lanka | 59 | 58 | 92 | 20.96 |
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | West Indies | 64 | 64 | 89 | 25.57 |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | Sri Lanka | 51 | 50 | 84 | 24.35 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | Zimbabwe | 48 | 48 | 82 | 20.48 |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | New Zealand | 37 | 37 | 79 | 15.84 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | India | 63 | 59 | 74 | 31.78 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | New Zealand | 41 | 40 | 74 | 17.94 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | Pakistan | 82 | 76 | 71 | 36.43 |
| Chaminda Vaas (SL) | India | 61 | 60 | 70 | 31.61 |
Key Insights
Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for the most wickets against a single opponent in ODI cricket, claiming 96 scalps against Pakistan.
Waqar Younis is the only bowler to take 5 five-wicket hauls against a single ODI team. He achieved this feat against New Zealand, against whom he also took a total of 79 wickets.
Younis’s 7 four-wicket hauls against New Zealand are also the most by a bowler against an opponent in ODIs.
Brett Lee is the only bowler to pick up three or more five-wicket hauls against two different teams. The former Australian paceman claimed 4 five-fors against India and 3 against England.
Muttiah Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in ODI history, and Wasim Akram, the most successful pacer, share a joint record for taking 50 or more wickets against five different opponents. They are followed by Waqar Younis and Glenn McGrath, who have each achieved the feat against four opponents.
Rashid Khan has the best bowling average and strike rate against an ODI team (minimum 50 wickets). He averages a remarkable 14.15 and takes a wicket every 21st ball against Zimbabwe.
Muralitharan is the only other bowler to average less than 15 against an opponent (14.67 vs Zimbabwe), while Waqar Younis has the second-best strike rate (22.6 vs New Zealand).
See which bowlers tops the overall strike rate and the overall bowling average metrics in ODI cricket.
Michael Holding holds the record for the most ODI wickets at an opponent’s home, with the former West Indies quick claiming 49 scalps against Australia in Australia.
Witness the raw pace and artistry of Michael Holding in this iconic bowling spell from the 1984 Test match in Perth – which is also the legendary fast bowler, Courtney Walsh’s debut Test match.
Imran Khan has taken the most wickets as a captain against a single ODI team. As Pakistan’s skipper, he claimed 41 wickets in 35 innings against the West Indies.
15 of Muralitharan’s 74 wickets against New Zealand came in the ODI World Cup, which is the most by a bowler against a team in the 50-over event.
Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas played together in 252 ODI matches, where they claimed 708 wickets—the most by any bowling pair in the format. A significant portion of these wickets (126) were taken against Pakistan.
