Top 10: Most Dot Balls Bowled by a Bowler in an ODI Innings

In limited-overs cricket, batters give a lot of hammering to bowlers. That’s why bowlers always look to finish their spells by leaking fewer runs, even if they can’t take any wickets.

The only way to concede fewer runs is to bowl as many dot balls as possible. A string of dot balls can build pressure on the opponent batters, forcing them to make mistakes and throw their wickets.

The dot ball tactic can turn the momentum towards the bowling side, helping them restrict their opponent from scoring huge totals.

A few skilled bowlers have pushed the batters on the back through their disciplined bowling, earning a bagful of dot balls in their spells.

This article lists the top 10 instances of the most dot balls bowled by bowlers in an ODI innings.

Most Dot Balls Bowled in an ODI Innings

Key Insights

3 bowlers have bowled the most number of dot balls in their spells in an ODI innings. Curtly Ambrose, Sunil Joshi, and Shakib Al Hasan sent down 55 dot balls out of their 60 legal deliveries.

Among the top 10 bowlers on this list, India’s Sunil Joshi and England’s James Anderson bowled 6 maiden overs in their spells. Overall, Phil Simmons and Bishan Singh Bedi earned the most maiden overs (8) in an ODI innings.

Also Read | Top 10: Bowlers with Most Maiden Overs in ODI

Australia’s Sean Abbott has the best economy rate in an innings in ODI cricket (minimum 30 balls bowled). His economy rate was just 0.20, as he conceded only 1 run in his 5 overs against New Zealand. In that magical new ball spell, Abbott bowled 28 consecutive dot balls before conceding that single run.

Shahid Afridi delivered 7022 dot balls in 274 ODI innings — the most dot balls bowled by a bowler in their entire ODI career. Afridi is the only bowler to bowl more than 7000 dot balls.