Picking wickets in bulk in One Day Internationals (ODIs) is an art that very few bowlers have been able to master. As a bowling team, it’s all about picking wickets of opposition batters and creating pressure on them. Usually, batting teams follow the strategy of playing safely in the first 30 overs and keeping wickets in hand for the final overs.
Your main bowler is expected to give wickets in bulk, like 3-5 wickets in a single match. However, regular wickets can completely spoil the batting strategy of the opposition team. It can completely shift the momentum towards the bowling team.
In the history of ODI cricket, we have seen several furious bowling spells where bowlers have run over the batting team with their lethal and consistent bowling. Taking a fifer in ODI cricket is never an easy task. It is different from effecting the same in Test cricket, where the bowlers have ample time to claim their wickets. However, former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis made it a habit to take 5-wicket-haul consistently in ODIs.
This article will look at the top 10 bowlers who have taken the most number of 5 wicket-hauls in ODI cricket.
Most 5-Wicket-Hauls in ODIs
| BOWLER | 5 WICKET-HAULS | INNINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Waqar Younis | 13 | 258 |
| Muttiah Muralidharan | 10 | 341 |
| Brett Lee | 9 | 217 |
| Shahid Afridi | 9 | 372 |
| Mitchell Starc | 9 | 109 |
| Lasith Malinga | 8 | 220 |
| Glenn McGrath | 7 | 248 |
| Lance Klusener | 6 | 164 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | 6 | 165 |
| Wasim Akram | 6 | 351 |
Stats Insights
Waqar Younis holds the record for the most 5-wicket-hauls in the history of ODI cricket – 13 in 258 innings. Waqar also has taken 14 four-wicket hauls. The Pakistani speedster was famous for his reverse swing bowling, which puzzled the opposition team batsman. Below is a gem of Waqar Younis’s 6-wickets spell against New Zealand.
Among the spinners, Muttiah Muralidharan has the most five-wicket hauls. Muralidharan has taken 10 five-wicket-hauls in his ODI career. The veteran Sri Lankan spinner has the prestigious record for most wickets in the history of ODI cricket. Muralitharan also tops the chart for the bowlers with the most five-wicket-hauls in Tests and across formats.
Mitchell Starc has grabbed 9 five-wicket hauls in 109 innings, the best in terms of frequency of five-wicket-hauls in ODI cricket among all bowlers. Starc is famous for his express pace bowling and ability to take wickets in bunches.
Undoubtedly, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has the best bowling strike rate among all bowlers in the Top 10 list of most five wickets haul. Saqlain Mushtaq has the best bowling average (21.78) among all bowlers on the list. While Glen McGrath has the best economy rate (3.9). Find out how to calculate all these bowling metrics in cricket here.
In the future, Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult have great chances to break this record of Waqar Younis of most five wickets haul in ODI cricket.
There is no Indian bowler on this list. The list is dominated by Pakistani bowlers, which shows their rich history in bowling in ODIs.
