Costly bowling at the ODI World Cup India have at times lost crucial matches at the ODI World Cup. One of the main reasons for these losses was his bowling. India have almost never lost a match mainly due to their batting behavior except perhaps in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup. There have been instances where older Indian bowlers have conceded more points in a crucial game. As a result, India lost control of the proceedings.
Expensive bowling at the ODI World Cup
In a tournament like the World Cup, every game is crucial. When a bowler concedes a very large lead, it can potentially change the fortunes of the team in that tournament.
We look at Indian bowlers who bowled expensive spells in the ODI World Cup:
#4 Umesh Yadav – 8.0
He was the biggest disadvantage of his cricketing career. Umesh Yadav is known for his performance leaks in all formats. He is a wicket taker and this fact has not escaped anyone, but his expensive style of bowling has cost him the team at times. One such occasion was the 2015 ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia. Yadav took four Australian wickets but ended up conceding 72 runs in just nine overs. His save rate of 8 in the game forced the captain not to play his full quota.
#3 Javagal Srinath – 8.7
He he had to come out of retirement to compete in the 2003 ODI World Championship. Javagal Srinath played an important role in India's progress to the final. He was part of the three-man attack which included Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and himself. However, Srinath proved quite expensive in the World Cup final. He had 87 runs during his trailing 10-plus run from 8.7 overs. The experienced closer failed to pick a single wicket and Australia knocked India out.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal – 8.8
Is Hatte this game a cascading effect on Indian cricket? The couple Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav went from strength to strength in 2017-19. They were India's biggest asset in the middle and both were looking for land. But in a return game against England, something surprisingly happened. The first in England were based on Indian bowls. The inning continued to the finish.
Kuldeep Yadav conceded 72 runs while Chahal took the hardest hit. In his 10+ year span, when his save rate was 8.8, he was floored for 88 runs. The Indian team combination changed after this game and they almost never put together the Chahal-Kuldeep combination together.
#1 Zaheer Khan – 9.57
India could not have dreamed of a more fraud-proof bowling day than the 2003 World Cup final. Indians were in top form, with Zaheer Khan, Srinath and Nehra winning each game. Khan was the new ball operator who made the ball talk. But it all came crashing down in the final.
Khan's disastrous first try, which lasted 15 points, set the tone for the game. India never fully recovered from this surprise. Khan didn't even reach his quota of overs. He only threw 7 overs but gave up 67 runs at economic odds of 9.57!
