Asia Cup 2023: 5 Best bowling performances of the tournament

The Asia Cup 2023 came to a conclusion on September 17, 2023, with the Indian team winning the trophy for the eighth time in a dominating performance against Sri Lanka, at the R Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo. The final saw Mohammed Siraj blowing away the Sri Lankan batting in a record performance with the ball which saw him reducing the hosts to 12/5 after 4 overs. The Dasun Shanaka-led side couldn’t recover from the early jolts and could only manage 50 runs. India overhauled the target in 6.1 overs and won the final by 10 wickets to become 8-time Asia Cup champions. Mohammed Siraj was named the Player of the Final for his brilliant performance. And like Siraj, there were many other bowling performances in the Asia Cup that are worthy of being discussed. Here are the 5 best bowling performances in the Asia Cup 2023 tournament: 5. Haris Rauf (4/19) - Pakistan vs Bangladesh Haris Rauf. (Photo Source: Twitter) Haris Rauf might have missed two big matches for Pakistan in the Super 4s stage of the Asia Cup 2023 tournament due to an injury. But he had already done his bit for the Men in Green with the ball. Rauf, despite missing two games, picked 9 wickets in 4 matches he played at an economy of 4.80. While he had picked three wickets against India in the first Group A game which was rained out, Haris Rauf’s best performance came against Bangladesh in the first Super 4s match in Lahore. Bangladesh had decided to bat first, but could only manage 193 with veterans Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim scoring half-centuries. As for the best bowler, Haris Rauf extracted both pace and bounce from the dull Lahore wicket against a potent Bangladesh lineup. Rauf picked the important scalps of Mohammad Naim, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taskin Ahmed in the match. He finished with figures of 4/19 in 6 overs and was the Player of the Match as Pakistan won by 7 wickets. 4. Matheesha Pathirana (4/32)- Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Matheesha-Pathirana. (Photo Source: Twitter) Matheesha Pathirana is lauded as the next best thing in Sri Lanka after Lasith Malinga and the two bowlers share a quite similar bowling action as well. Junior Malinga had an excellent outing for Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup as he finished with 11 wickets in 6 matches. His best bowling performance was 4/32 at an economy of 6.61. Pathirana’s best came against Bangladesh in a Group B game, at Pallekele Stadium, in Kandy. Shakib Al Hasan decided to bat first in Kandy and his decision backfired. While Dhananjaya de Silva and Maheesh Theekshana picked early wickets, it was Pathirana who removed the big fishes in Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim for cheap. He added scalps of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman to end with 4/32, as Bangladesh collapsed to 164. 3. Dunith Wellalage (5/40)- Sri Lanka vs India Dunith-Wellalage. (Photo Source: Twitter/ICC) Dunith Wellalage was a revelation for Sri Lanka in this Asia Cup 2023. The left-arm spinner finished with 10 wickets in 6 matches with an economy of just 4.26. He was the best spinner for them with Maheesh Theekshana and bowled extremely well in the middle overs. Dunith Wellalage’s best bowling performance in the Asia Cup 2023 came against India in a Super 4s encounter in R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The youngster was brought into the bowl early by Dasun Shanaka and he gave rich rewards. He quickly accounted for the top three of the Indian batting in Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli to jolt the Men in Blue. Then in the middle overs, he came back to break a partnership by dismissing KL Rahul and then accounted for dangerous Hardik Pandya. Wellalage finished with 5/40 in his 10 overs, his maiden five-wicket haul for Sri Lanka in ODIs. 2. Kuldeep Yadav (5/25)- India vs Pakistan Kuldeep Yadav (Photo Source: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images) Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of Indian bowlers in the tournament as he gave captain Rohit Sharma wickets whenever he came to bowl. Since gaining his confidence back last year in the IPL 2022, Kuldeep has been the go-to bowler for Rohit Sharma. Even in the Asia Cup 2023, he finished with 9 scalps in 5 matches at a miserly economy of 3.61. He was also adjudged the Player of the Tournament and his best bowling performance came against arch-rivals Pakistan in what was a complete demolition of the former no.1 ranked ODI team. Set 357 runs to win, Pakistan was under pressure to score fast and big and Kuldeep jolted them early with the wicket of Fakhar Zaman. The left-arm wrist spinner then accounted for Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, and Faheem Ashraf, wiping off the middle order as Pakistan crumbled for 128 runs. 1. Mohammed Siraj (6/21)- India vs Sri Lanka Siraj Ronaldo celebration (Photo Source: Twitter) Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj has saved his best for the last and what a performance it was in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in RPS Colombo. Dasun Shanaka had won the toss and chose to bat first on a new wicket but keeping the conditions in mind. However, his plans were undone quickly due to rain. The short burst of rain provided Indian pacers enough moisture in the air that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj swung the ball left, right, and centre. Mohammed Siraj began his carnage in the 4th over of the innings and picked four wickets in the over starting with Pathum Nissanka, and including Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, and Dhananjaya de Silva. If this was not enough, he came back to castle Dasun Shanka with a beautiful outswinger which should be awarded the ball of the tournament. This was his maiden 5-wicket haul in ODIs and he added a cherry on top with a 6th wicket as Sri Lanka crumbled to 50 all out.

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Asia Cup 2023: 5 Best bowling performances of the tournament

These are the five best bowling performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023, which was won by India.

4. Matheesha Pathirana (4/32)- Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh

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