Sri Lanka spin sensation Wanindu Hasaranga made a spectacular comeback. He took his career-best figure of 7/19 in his return to international cricket as Sri Lanka demolished Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in a rain-affected encounter. Sri Lanka also sealed the ODI series with a 2-0 victory as they won the last two games of the three-match ODI series with the first one being washed out in rain.
Wanindu Hasaranga came to bowl in the ninth over of the reduced 27-over match and took the wicket of Takudzwanashe Kaitano with the final ball of his first over. He then went on to take another three scalps in his next couple of overs. Zimbabwe struggled to play his googly as the spinner claimed three of the final four wickets to restrict Zimbabwe to just 96.
Wanindu Hasaranga missed out on a lot of international cricket due to his injury. He was not available during the Asia Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup. Wanindu Hasaranga sustained a hamstring injury during the Lanka Premier League due to which he was out of cricketing action for four months. He underwent a hamstring surgery in October 2023 and completed his rehabilitation.
Wanindu Hasaranga’s figure of 7/19 is the fifth-best ODI figure in the history. He was brilliant with his googlies against the Zimbabwe batters and bamboozled them with his bowling. Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker and the highest run-scorer in the Lanka Premier League 2023 and he has carried his form even after missing out on cricketing action for four months.
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Wanindu Hasaranga Joins The Elite List Of Glenn McGrath And Shahid Afridi
With his best figure of 7/19 against Zimbabwe in the third ODI, Wanindu Hasaranga joins the elite list of players to take seven wickets in an ODI innings while giving less than 20 runs. Only four other bowlers have achieved this feat before him. It is also the second-best figure by a Sri Lankan in ODI cricket as he goes past Muttiah Muralitharan’s 7/30 against India.
Here Are The Top Five Best Figures In ODI Cricket:
- Chaminda Vass: Chaminda Vass has the best-registered bowling figure in ODI history as he took 8/19 against Zimbabwe in 2001
- Shahid Afridi: Shahid Afridi took 7/12 against West Indies in 2013 which is the second-best figure in ODI cricket.
- Glenn McGrath: With a figure of 7/15 Australia’s Glenn McGrath has the third-best overall and the best figure in ODI World Cup history which he took against Namibia in 2003.
- Rashid Khan: Afghanistan’s spin veteran comes fourth in this list as he took 7/18 against West Indies in 2017.
- Wanindu Hasaranga: The latest entry in this list and the second Sri Lankan, Wanindu Hasaranga with a figure of 7/19 against Zimbabwe in 2024 has the fifth-best figure in ODI history.
Sri Lanka will now face Zimbabwe in a three-match T20I series and Wanindu Hasaranaga has been named as the captain of the Sri Lankan team against Zimbabwe. This will be the first time Hasaranga will be leading the national team. After a terrible ODI World Cup campaign where they finished ninth among ten teams, Sri Lanka is in a rebuilding phase.
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