Cricket, this year, has been a challenge for both players and cricket boards across the globe. The 2021 records for the ODI will have more names from the associate teams as there were very less number of ODIs held within the big nations.
Being the year of T20 World Cup, the primary cricketing nations preferred to play more T20s than ODIs in 2021. We also saw ODI fixtures converting into shortest format contests in few occasions.
India, the major force in the format, played only 6 ODIs this year, in which the lead players were rested for 3 in Sri Lanka. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with 9 wickets this year, has picked the most wickets for India in ODIs in 2021.
Below is the table of leading ODI wicket takers in 2021:
| BOWLERS | WICKETS | INNINGS | AVERAGE | BEST BOWLING | 5-WKT HAUL | ECON RATE | STRIKE RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dushmantha Chameera (SL) | 20 | 13 | 29.30 | 5/16 | 1 | 5.51 | 31.9 |
| Simi Singh (IRE) | 19 | 11 | 20.15 | 5/10 | 1 | 3.67 | 32.8 |
| Sandeep Lamichhane (NEP) | 18 | 5 | 7.38 | 6/11 | 1 | 3.17 | 13.9 |
| Mustafizur Rahman (BAN) | 18 | 10 | 21.55 | 3/16 | 0 | 5.03 | 25.6 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 17 | 9 | 17.52 | 5/30 | 1 | 3.67 | 28.5 |
| Josh Little (IRE) | 17 | 8 | 20.11 | 4/39 | 0 | 4.68 | 25.7 |
| Andy McBrine (IRE) | 16 | 12 | 25.18 | 5/29 | 1 | 3.87 | 39.0 |
| Mehidy Hasan (BAN) | 15 | 11 | 19.80 | 4/25 | 0 | 3.53 | 33.6 |
| Akeal Hosein (WI) | 14 | 9 | 23.07 | 3/26 | 0 | 3.97 | 34.8 |
| Tabraiz Shamsi (SA) | 14 | 8 | 26.35 | 5/49 | 1 | 5.07 | 31.1 |
Key Stats for ODI Bowlers in 2021
Sandeep Lamichhane’s 6 for 11 against Papa New Guinea in Al Amerat is the best bowling performance by a bowler in ODIs in 2021. Sandeep also leads the list of players, who have picked 4 or more wickets in an ODI innings – 3. Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan follow him with 2 instances each.
Sadeep’s bowling average is also the best among the bowlers, who have played more than 3 ODIs this year.
Chris Woakes’ economy of 2.30 is the best for any bowler who have bowled 20 or more overs in 2021. However, Sandeep’s economy of 3.17 in the 41.5 overs he bowled stands apart!
Sandeep, once again stands tall by striking at a rate of 13.9, which is the second best after Oman’s Nestor Dhamba. Dhamba picked a wicket in every 8 balls he bowled this year.
You can find here a detailed explanation of how are bowling average, strike rate and economy rate calculated in cricket.
The West Indian debutant Keon Harding has had the worst performance as a bowler in ODI this year, conceding 88 runs for no wickets in his debut match against Bangladesh in Chattogram.
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