Four Best Bowling Spells by Spinners in English Conditions

Kuldeep Yadav produced a sensational piece of wrist spin bowling in the opening One-day International game against England which helped India to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sensational Kuldeep began with the wicket of Jason Roy which started the slide for England. Kuldeep reduced the hosts to 82 for three after getting off to a brisk start.

On the other side, Rohit Sharma also scored a magnificent century as India chased down the target of 269 with utmost ease in the end during 41st over.

Kuldeep’s figures of six for 25 also became the best figures for a spinner in English conditions.

Now, without wasting any time let us have a look at four best bowling figures by spinners in English conditions

5/27 by Adil Rashid vs Ireland in Bristol 2017:

The English leg-spinner Adil Rashid bagged five wickets against Ireland during the first ODI of the Irish tour of England in 2017.

So, it was the English pacers who provided the initial breakthroughs which reduced Ireland to 90 for four. Rashid came into the act in the middle overs and bagged five Irish wickets.

They couldn’t pick his variations and kept giving away their wickets. He bagged the wickets of Niall O’Brien, Gary Wilson, Kevin O’Brien, Stuart Thompson and Tim Murtagh. They were bowled out for 126 in just 33 overs.

In reply, England chased the target down in 20 overs courtesy fluent knocks from Alex Hales and Joe Root respectively.

5/18 by Andrew Symonds vs Bangladesh in Manchester, 2005

It was one of the tri-series matches against Bangladesh when Andrew Symonds excelled with the ball in hand. He was quite superb during his spell and bagged five wickets for just 18 runs.

After batting first, Bangladesh was bowled out for a paltry 140 runs in 35.2 overs. Bangladesh were 113 for two and looked set for a competitive total. However, Symonds had other ideas and started off his spell with the wicket of Shahriar Nafees.

He bowled quite well to bag the wickets of Mohammad Ashraful, Habibul Bashar, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Rafique respectively.

Eventually, Bangladesh batters kept giving away their wickets while playing false shots. Australia chased down the target of 140 in just 19 overs. Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden shared an unbeaten partnership of 140 runs.

5/11 by Shahid Afridi vs Kenya in Edgbaston, 2004:

It was a champions Trophy group game against Kenya in Manchester where Shahid Afridi achieved the previous best figures being a spinner in English conditions.

Kenya was shot out for a paltry score of 94 runs in 32 overs in 2004. It was impressive bowling by Afridi. However, it was more to do with some horrendous shots executed by the Kenyan batters.

His spell included the wickets of Morris Ouma, Thomas Odoyo, Brijal Patel, Malhar Patel and Peter Ongondo. Yasir Hameed and Imran Farhat scored 41 and 38 respectively as Pakistan reached the target in the 19^th over with seven wickets in hand.

6/25 Kuldeep Yadav in Nottingham 2018:

Kuldeep bowled a sensational spell on July 12, 2018, in Nottingham and wrecked the English batting with some immaculate variations. After bagging the wicket of Jason Roy, he bamboozled Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root with a couple of stunning deliveries.

They failed to read the distinct deliveries and fell prey to his guile. He came back strongly in his second spell and bagged the wickets of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and David Willey.

The six-wicket haul became the best figures by a spinner in English conditions.