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5 Leading Bowling Spells of the Wills World Cup 1996

by Vairag
Vairag Published: Last Updated on 3 Mins read
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Today we discuss the Cricketers with the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996. The Wills World Cup 1996 was played in Asia and while it saw Sachin Tendulkar coming of the age to become a legendary figure, it had other performances to reflect to too. While Sri Lanka won their first trophy, the World Cup also saw India under Azhar perform amazingly well. Here we see the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

5. Shane Warne

The legendary leg-spinner would go on to be the third highest wicket-taker from the World Cup edition. On March 1, 1996, Australia was playing against Zimbabwe at Nagpur. Shane Warne bowled a spell of 9.3-1-34- 4 picking wickets of Andy Flower, Craig Evans, Stephen Peall & Charlie Lock. This performance of the Champion Leg-Spinner featured among the top 5 of the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

Zimbabwe were bowled out for 154 and the Kangaroo team chased down 155 in 36 Overs with 8 wickets intact. Mark Waugh top scored with an unbeaten 76.

4. Waqar Younis

The King of Swing was the second highest wicket-taker at the 1996 edition of the World Cup. The express pace bowler, on February 26, 1996, bowled a spell of 10-0-26-4 in a World cup match Pakistan was playing against Netherlands. Waqar’s spell featured among the top 5 of the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

Netherlands were restricted at 145/7 from their 50 overs which the Pakistan team chased down in less than 35 overs, Saeed Anwar top scoring with an unbeaten 83.

3. Damien Fleming

One of the key members of the golden era of Australian Cricket, Damien Fleming would feature among the top wicket-takers of the Will World Cup 1996. On February 27, 1996, Damien bowled a spell of 9-0-36-5 against India at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. His spell would help Australia bowl the Asian team out on 242 after being put on a chase of 259 from 50 overs and would get featured among the top 3 of the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

Earlier, Australia had scored 258 with contributions from Mark Waugh (126) & Mark Taylor (59). For India, Sachin Tendulkar (90) & Sanjay Manjrekar (62) were the key scorers.

2. Shaukat Dukanwala

One of the key performances in the Will World Cup 1996, on March 1, 1996, Shaukat Dukanwala of UAE bowled a spell of 10-0-29-5 against Netherlands at Lahore. His spell would help his team restrict the Dutch team to 216/9 and would get featured among the top 3 of the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

The UAE team would chase down this target within 45 overs with 7 wickets to spare. Saleem Raza would top-score for the UAE Team, while Mohammad Ishaq & Vijay Mehra would finish off the chase with 51 not out & 29 not out.

1. Paul Strang

The Zimbabwe Leg-spinner was among the top-wicket takers of the Wills World Cup 1996. On March 1, 1996, Zimbabwe was playing against Kenya at Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna. The Wrist Spinner helped his team bowl the Kenyan team out for a paltry 134 with an outstanding spell of 9.4-1-21-5, a spell which led the list of the best match bowling in Cricket World Cup 1996.

His younger brother, Bryan Strang also contributed with 2/24 from his 10 overs. Chasing 135, Zimbabwe would win with 5 wickets and little over 7 overs remaining with Grant Flower top-scoring with 45 from 112 balls.

These were the bowling performances that got into the list of the best from Wills World Cup 1996. While these performances helped their teams in the tournament, few even among the top wicket-takers. It is an interesting fact that it was Sri Lanka that won the World Cup edition and none of their bowlers feature among the top 5 wicket-takers or among the best 5 spells.

But if you dig down the statistics further, you’ll know that they showcased team-brilliance, and not individual brilliance, that took them through. Hope you liked the content, don’t forget to pen down in comments, your thoughts and questions, if any.