Top 5 Bowlers with Most wickets in a single World Cup tournament

Top 5 Bowlers with Most wickets in a single World Cup tournament: ICC Cricket World cup is not just about the batting, but also about wonderful bowling also. Great bowling brings the ultimate balance to the dominance of batting in today’s slam bang format of cricket. Here are 5 such bowlers who took most wickets in a single world cup: 5. Geoff Allott (NZ) (1999) / Shane Warne (Aus)(1999) – 20 Wickets The wily New Zealand pace man overtook Roger Binny’s 16 year old record of 18 wickets in the 1983 World cup by taking 20 wickets in the tournament. Allott was a left-handed fast bowler who could swing the ball both ways and got good help from the humid English climate to pick up 20 wickets and lead New Zealand to the semifinals where they lost to Pakistan. Aussie leg spinner Shane Warne also reached the 20 wickets mark with 4 wickets each in the semi-finals and the finals of the World cup. He took 4-29 against South Africa in the Semifinals to help tie the game, which took Australia in the finals because of them beating the Proteas in round robin league. He then again took 4-33 to rout Pakistan for just 132 in the final to help Australia win the World cup for the second time. 4. Zaheer Khan (Ind) (2011) / Glenn McGrath (Aus) (2003) / Brad Hogg (Aus) (2007) / S Afridi (Pak) (2011) – 21 Wickets Zaheer Khan (Ind) (2011) / Glenn McGrath (Aus) (2003) / Brad Hogg (Aus) (2007) / S Afridi (Pak) (2011) – 21 Wickets. (Photo Source: AFP) There are 3 bowlers who took 21 wickets in a single World cup tournament. Zaheer Khan took 21 wickets to lead the table and India to the World cup win in the 2011 edition. His experience on Indian pitches came in very handy as he proved to be captain Dhoni’s trump card. He took wickets whenever he was called to bowl by Dhoni. Glenn Mcgrath took 21 wickets in the 2003 World cup held in South Africa. His best bowling was 7/15 against Namibia. He was as good as ever, bowling with great line and length at the beginning and a mix of yorkers and slow balls at the death. Australia won their 3rd straight title in 2007 which was mainly due to their bowling. Three of their bowlers took more than 20 wickets and left arm chinaman Brad Hogg took 21 wickets for the Aussies with a best of 4-27. Hogg proved to be a quite a handful on the slow Caribbean wickets which helped him use his chinaman and wrong ones effectively. Shahid Afridi topped the 2011 World cup most wickets table along with Zaheer Khan. As the Pakistani captain, he led from the front taking 5 wicket hauls 2 times in the tournament with a best of 5-16. His mix of fast leg spin and top spinners was perfect on the subcontinent pitches. Pakistan reached the semi-finals of the tournament where they were defeated by arch-rivals and eventual champions India. 3. Brett Lee (Aus) (2003) – 22 Wickets Brett Lee took the most wickets for the champions in the 2003 World cup. (Photo Source: AFP) The fastest bowler in the world for most of his career, Brett Lee took the most wickets for the champions in the 2003 World cup. His 22 wickets included a 5 wicket haul and a World cup hat trick against Kenya. His dismissal of Kennedy Obuya, also broke the batsman’s hand and the ball deflected off onto the stumps to bowled him. His fiery pace was good enough to unsettle any batsman on the fast South African pitches. 2. Chaminda Vaas (SL) (2003) / Shaun Tait (Aus) (2007) / M Muralitharan (SL) (2007) – 23 Wickets Chaminda Vaas (SL) (2003) / Shaun Tait (Aus) (2007) / M Muralitharan (SL) (2007) – 23 Wickets. (Photo Source: Reuters ) Chaminda Vaas took the most 23 wickets in the 2003 World cup for the Sri Lankans. His experience and knowledge proved to be a boon for SriLanka on South African pitches. He also took a hat trick against Bangladesh in the very first over of the innings, which included 4 wickets in 5 balls and a boundary in the over. Tear away quick bowler Shaun Tait complimented the guile of Mcgrath in the 2007 World cup win with his pace and took 23 wickets, second most after McGrath to help Australia win their 4th title. He was chosen in the squad to replace the injured Brett Lee and proved to be a great replacement. His quick deliveries in a burst of short 2-3 over spells unsettled the batsmen who had no idea how to tackle his pace. The wizard of SriLanka, Muttiah Muralitharan also took 23 wickets to help SriLanka reach the finals of the 2007 competition. The slow pitches in most of the Caribbean grounds proved helpful for him to turn the ball and bamboozle batsmen with his magic. 1. Glenn McGrath (Aus) (2007) – 26 Wickets Glenn McGrath broke the most wickets record of 23 wickets held by the Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas by taking 26 wickets in the 2007 format. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Glenn McGrath broke the most wickets record of 23 wickets held by the Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas by taking 26 wickets in the 2007 format. McGrath had announced that this would be his last World cup and he ended the World cup with a new record. He was also named the player of the tournament for his 26 wickets and had a fairytale end to his World cup career with a 3rd consecutive World title for the Australian team. *All stats updated till 14th February 2015.