Top 5 Highest Wicket-Takers In 2019 In ODIs

Top 5 Highest Wicket-Takers In 2019 In ODIs: Over the past decade, 50-over cricket has seen a significant shift as the batsmen have managed to have a greater say. The advent of T20 cricket in the previous decade and the format getting advanced in this decade, lead the batsmen to adopt the Twenty20 approach even in One-day internationals (ODI). Specific powerplay rules were also moulded with regards to One-day cricket that ended up highly favouring the batsmen.

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As a result, the work of the bowlers had increasingly enhanced and culminated in taking them to the cleaners, at times. However, the present year didn’t turn out to be lopsided. Batsmen and bowlers equally dominated the 50-over cricket. However, 2019 was all about the fast bowlers marking their territory over the spinners.

We take a look at the top 5 highest wicket-takers in 2019 in ODIs:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 33 wickets

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was supposed to be one of the high-impact players in 2019, especially leading up to the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He picked up ten wickets in six games. Of late, the Meerut seamer has been very inconsistent and has found himself out of the side often due to injuries.

The 29-year old was in line to play the ODI series against West Indies; however, he picked up a knee injury in the T20 series before that. Bhuvneshwar would certainly be targetting his return to the national colours and look to be more consistent in the upcoming year. However, his record in 2019 is still an encouraging one, having picked up 33 wickets in 19 games at an average of 23.75.

Mustafizur Rahman: – 34 wickets

Mustafizur Rahman was one of the rare sensational pace sensations in Bangladesh’s ranks. Having made his debut in 2015, the left-arm seamer managed to outfox some of the best batsmen right away. Nonetheless, of late, Mustafizur has found himself on the sidelines due to highly fluctuating performances.

However, he thrived way above expectations during the World Cup in 2019, having snared 20 wickets in eight matches. The 24-year old last played for the national side against Sri Lanka back in July and has remained out of action due to injuries. Amid that, Mustafizur was one of the best bowlers in 2019, snapping 34 wickets in 16 matches at 28.14.

Lockie Ferguson – 35 wickets

While Trent Boult and Matt Henry rely on swing and accuracy, Lockie Ferguson rattles the batsmen through his searing pace. Ferguson was one of the go-to bowlers for Kane Williamson during the World Cup 2019, having the ability to dislodge any batsmen through his bouncer which he can bowl regularly at more than 140 kph.

The Kiwi pacer ended the 2019 World Cup as the second-highest wicket-taker behind Mitchell Starc with 21 wickets from nine games. In the year as a whole, the 28-year old sits in the third position, having taken 35 wickets from 17 games.

Trent Boult – 38 wickets

The left-arm seamer has cemented his position as the premier new-ball bowler for New Zealand, regardless of the format. Since his ODI debut in 2012, Trent Boult has 164 wickets in just 89 games at an average of 25.06. He also endured a fruitful World Cup campaign with 17 wickets from ten games, including a hat-trick against Australia in Lord’s.

However, not being able to hand the World Cup to the Black Caps would haunt him. One of his greatest weapons is the in-swinger which can castle the batsmen in any conditions. The 30-year old is the second-highest wicket-taker in the current year, having snared 38 scalps in 20 games at a sensational average of 23.97.

Mohammed Shami – 42 wickets

The Bengal pacer, along with Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah is the catalyst to India’s success in Test cricket in India as well as overseas. Mohammed Shami has been equally effective even in limited-overs cricket. India might have missed a trick by not playing him in the World Cup semi-final, having paid the price of not losing the semi-final by a narrow margin.

Shami played only four matches in the World Cup but created a massive impact in those limited opportunities, claiming 14 wickets at 13.78, including a hattrick against Afghanistan. The 29-year old tops the wicket-taking charts of 2019 with 42 wickets from only 21 games at an average of 22.64.

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