Team India was defeated by South Africa in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) at SuperSport Park, in Centurion on February 21. None of the Indian bowlers were able to contain the Proteas batsmen who masterly chased down the target of 189 runs, with eight balls to spare. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had an off day and went wicketless against a resurgent South African side. The frequent rain interventions didn’t help his cause either, as his performance on the day, went on to become the worst for an Indian bowler in a T20 match. Talking about worst performances, we look at the worst performances by an Indian bowler across all the three formats – Test, ODI, or T20I.
Yuzvendra Chahal, the wrist-spinner, who along with Kuldeep Yadav was a thorn in South Africa’s flesh, previously in the series, was taken to cleaners in the second T20I. Here, we bring to you the top 3 worst performances in by an Indian bowler in T20 history:
Sr. No. | Player | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Opposition | Year |
1 | Yuzvendra Chahal | 4.0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | South Africa | 2018 |
2 | Joginder Sharma | 4.0 | 0 | 57 | 0 | England | 2007 |
3 | Yusuf Pathan | 4.0 | 0 | 54 | 1 | Sri Lanka | 2009 |
Talking about One Day Internationals, the record stands with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Again, it was South Africa who pummelled the fast bowler making him the most expensive bowler in Indian ODI history. We look at the worst ODI bowling performances by an Indian bowler in the game’s history:
Sr. No. | Player | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Opposition | Year |
1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 10.0 | 0 | 106 | 1 | South Africa | 2015 |
2 | Vinay Kumar | 9.0 | 0 | 102 | 1 | Australia | 2013 |
3 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 10.0 | 0 | 92 | 1 | New Zealand | 2017 |
In Test Cricket, the record stands with none other than the legendary spinner – Anil Kumble. The Australian side comprising of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, and Adam Gilchrist was Kumble’s tormentor-in-chief in the Test match at Sydney in 2004. However, Kumble did have a face to show when the match ended, as he took 12 wickets in the entire match. We bring to a list of top 3 worst performances by an Indian bowler in Test History:
Sr. No. | Player | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Opposition | Year |
1 | Anil Kumble | 88.5 | 15 | 279 | 12 | Australia | 2004 |
2 | Rajesh Chauhan | 78.0 | 8 | 276 | 1 | Sri Lanka | 1997 |
3 | Anil Kumble | 56.2 | 8 | 268 | 8 | Pakistan | 2006 |
We all know every bowler has an off day. Both, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Anil Kumble are unlucky to feature twice in the top 3 worst performances’ list. With Chahal breaking a 10-year-old record in the second T20I against South Africa, it will be interesting to see which Indian bowler we will see next to get featured on these lists!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2018 12:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).