Irfan Pathan is one of the best all-rounders that India has ever produced. He contributed with both skills, batting and bowling. He was one of the key figures in the 2007 T20 World Cup glory for India. Pathan played in 120 One-Day internationals for India and picked up 173 wickets at an average of 29.72.
Top 3 bowling performances in ODI Cricket by Irfan Pathan:
5/27 vs Zimbabwe, 2005
Pathan’s best bowling figures came against Zimbabwe at Harare in the Triangular series which had India, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand. In the third match of that triangular series, he showed his skills with the ball.
Tatenda Taibu won the toss and put India to bat first. The Indians could not post a huge total as they were restricted by Zimbabwe to a low total of 226. Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, and MS Dhoni made half-centuries to help India reach that total.
The chase was looking reasonable for Zimbabwe but Irfan Pathan had different intentions. Irfan Pathan took the Zimbabwe batting order by shock and blew them away. He gave quick breakthroughs to India by dismissing both openers, Brendan Taylor and Stuart Carlisle. Pathan also sent Zimbabwe skipper Taibu back into the pavilion. He helped the Men in Blue to pack up the innings by taking two more wickets and completing his 5-wicket haul.
5/61 vs Pallekele, 2012
Another 5-wicket haul for Irfan Pathan came against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele. In the 5th ODI of the series between India and Sri Lanka, Pathan channelized his all-round skills and contributed with both bat and ball, more prominently with the latter.
The Indian team batting first scored 294 runs and posed a big challenge to the Sri Lankan batters. Pathan played a crucial cameo of 28 runs to help India reach that total.
With the ball he started with a bang, dismissing TM Dilshan in his very first over. He also dismissed Upul Tharanga who was looking impressive. The Sri Lankans were looking on course to chase the target as they made few partnerships. Pathan scalped one such batter, Jeevan Mendis, who had already scored 72 runs and was looking dangerous. The all-rounder added the scalps of Thisara Perera and Sachitra Senanayake in his bag to bowl the Sri Lankans out and complete his 5-fer.
4/41 vs Australia, 2008
Pathan has five 4-wicket hauls in his career but this 4-wicket haul is the most special as it came against the mighty Aussies in Australia, in the all-important Commonwealth Bank series which India won.
The Australians batted first and Irfan Pathan played a huge role in restricting the Aussies to a low total of 203. He took crucial wickets of Mathew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, and Nathan Bracken. He gave early breakthroughs to India and backed that up by curtailing the tail of the Australian batting order.
India eventually lost that match eventually but this remains one of the best bowling performances of Irfan Pathan with the ball in ODI cricket.
Also read: Umesh Yadav’s top three performance in ODI Cricket