Sri Lankan off-spinner Akila Dananjaya’s match-winning 6/29 against South Africa at Colombo was the 85th instance of a bowler taking at least six wickets in an ODI innings. Incidentally, this was Dananjaya’s second ODI six-wicket haul, making him only the 12th bowler to achieve the feat more than once. Here is a look at a few interesting facts and figures surrounding six-wicket hauls in ODIs.
The first six-wicket haul
Australian seamer Gary Gilmour became the first man to collect six wickets in an ODI, when he returned figures of 6/14 from his 12 overs (six of which were maidens) against England in the semifinal of the 1975 World Cup at Headingley. Gilmour did not just star with the ball - after his spell knocked England over for just 93, he scored an unbeaten 28 from as many balls - the highest score of the game - to rescue Australia from 39/6 and take them to a four-wicket victory.
Country-wise breakdown
Pakistan have provided the most number of ODI six-wicket hauls, with 15 instances by ten bowlers. They are followed by Sri Lanka (13 instances by ten bowlers), Australia (nine by eight), India (nine by eight), West Indies (nine by nine), South Africa (seven by seven), New Zealand (six by four), Zimbabwe (five by four), Bangladesh (three by three), England (three by two), Afghanistan (two by one) and one each by Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and the UAE.
Sevens and eights
Of the 85 six-wicket hauls, 12 have been converted to seven-wicket hauls and only one into an eight-wicket haul. The first bowler to take seven wickets in an ODI was Winston Davis of the West Indies, who took 7/51 against Australia at Headingley in the 1983 World Cup. The only bowler in ODI history to record an eight-wicket haul is Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas, who destroyed Zimbabwe en route to figures of 8/19 at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club in 2001-02.
Following is the complete list of seven-wicket hauls in ODIs:
7/51 by Winston Davis (West Indies) v Australia, Headingley, 1983
7/37 by Aaqib Javed (Pakistan) v India, Sharjah, 1991-92
7/30 by Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) v India, Sharjah, 2000-01
7/36 by Waqar Younis (Pakistan) v England, Headingley, 2001
8/19 by Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) v Zimbabwe, Colombo, 2001-02
7/15 by Glenn McGrath (Australia) v Namibia, Potchefstroom, 2002-03
7/20 by Andy Bichel (Australia) v England, Port Elizabeth, 2002-03
7/12 by Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) v West Indies, Providence, 2013
7/33 by Tim Southee (New Zealand) v England, Wellington, 2014-15
7/45 by Imran Tahir (South Africa) v West Indies, Basseterre, 2016
7/18 by Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) v West Indies, Gros Islet, 2017
7/34 by Trent Boult (New Zealand) v West Indies, Christchurch, 2017-18
Waqar Younis - the king of six-wicket hauls
Including Dananjaya, 12 bowlers have taken six wickets in an ODI more than once. Only one of them, Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis, has achieved the feat more than twice. In fact, Waqar took an ODI six-for five times, with the first of them being 6/26 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1989-90. In 2001, he became the only bowler to take six wickets in successive ODIs - a career-best 7/36 against England at Headingley, followed by 6/59 against Australia at Trent Bridge.
Besides Waqar and Dananjaya, the other bowlers to have taken at least two six-wicket hauls in ODIs are: Henry Olonga (Zimbabwe), Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka), Ashish Nehra (India), Shane Bond and Trent Boult (New Zealand), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Chris Woakes (England), Mitchell Starc (Australia) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).
Six-wicket hauls at the World Cup
The World Cup has witnessed 12 six-wicket hauls, which include four seven-wicket hauls, across its eleven additions. Five editions have produced at least one six-wicket haul, with the most (five) coming in the 2003 edition. Australia’s Glenn McGrath holds the record for the best bowling figures at the World Cup, having taken 7/15 against Namibia at Potchefstroom in 2003.
Following is the complete list of six-wicket hauls at the World Cup:
6/14 by Gary Gilmour (Australia) v England, Headingley, 1975
7/51 by Winston Davis (West Indies) v Australia, Headingley, 1983
6/39 by Ken MacLeay (Australia) v India, Trent Bridge, 1983
6/25 by Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) v Bangladesh, Pietermaritzburg, 2002-03
6/23 by Ashish Nehra (India) v England, Durban, 2002-03
7/15 by Glenn McGrath (Australia) v Namibia, Potchefstroom, 2002-03
7/20 by Andy Bichel (Australia) v England, Port Elizabeth, 2002-03
6/23 by Shane Bond (New Zealand) v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2002-03
6/27 by Kemar Roach (West Indies) v Netherlands, Delhi, 2010-11
6/38 by Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) v Kenya, Colombo, 2010-11
7/33 by Tim Southee (New Zealand) v England, Wellington, 2014-15
6/28 by Mitchell Starc (Australia) v New Zealand, Auckland, 2014-15
Dream debuts
Two bowlers, both of them pacemen, have had the satisfaction of taking six wickets on ODI debut. The first to do so was Fidel Edwards of the West Indies, who captured 6/22 against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2003-04. These figures were bettered by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, who took 6/16 in his first ODI, against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2015.
In a losing cause
A six-wicket haul has usually proved enough for victory, but there have been 13 exceptions over the years. The first bowler to take a six-wicket haul in an ODI in a losing cause was Pakistan’s Imran Khan, whose 6/14 against India at Sharjah in 1984-85 went in vain after his team lost by 38 runs despite chasing only 126. Additionally, there has been one six-wicket haul in a tied ODI (Waqar’s 6/30 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1993-94).
Following is the complete list of ODI six-wicket hauls in a losing cause:
6/14 by Imran Khan (Pakistan) v India, Sharjah, 1984-85
6/50 by Tony Gray (West Indies) v Australia, Port of Spain, 1990-91
6/35 by Shaun Pollock (South Africa) v West Indies, East London, 1998-99
6/23 by Shane Bond (New Zealand) v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2002-03
6/42 by Ajit Agarkar (India) v Australia, Melbourne, 2003-04
6/59 by Ashish Nehra (India) v Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2005
6/52 by Chris Mpofu (Zimbabwe) v Kenya, Nairobi, 2008-09
6/45 by Chris Woakes (England) v Australia, Brisbane, 2010-11
6/39 by Dale Steyn (South Africa) v Pakistan, Port Elizabeth, 2013-14
6/28 by Mitchell Starc (Australia) v New Zealand, Auckland, 2014-15
6/34 by Zahoor Khan (UAE) v Ireland, Dubai, 2016-17
6/55 by Paul Stirling (Ireland) v Afghanistan, Greater Noida, 2016-17
6/54 by Akila Dananjaya (Sri Lanka) v India, Pallekele, 2017
Least and most runs conceded
The most economical six-wicket haul (giving away the least runs) is Stuart Binny’s 6/4 for India against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2014, followed by his compatriot Anil Kumble’s 6/12 against the West Indies at Calcutta in 1993-94 and Shahid Afridi’s 7/12, also against the West Indies, at Providence in 2013. The most expensive (giving away the most runs) is 6/59, by Waqar against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2001 and by Ashish Nehra against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2005.
All-round shows
Following are the instances of a player scoring at least 50 runs in the same ODI in which he took a six-wicket haul:
54 and 6/49 by Lance Klusener (South Africa) v Sri Lanka, Lahore, 1997-98
63* and 6/25 by Scott Styris (New Zealand) v West Indies, Port of Spain, 2002
112* and 6/31 by Paul Collingwood (England) v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge, 2005
76 and 7/12 by Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) v West Indies, Providence, 2013
53* and 6/28 by Josh Davey (Scotland) v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi, 2014-15
95 and 6/55 by Paul Stirling (Ireland) v Afghanistan, Greater Noida, 2016-17
Six-wicket hauls by Associate players
Following are the instances of a bowler from an Associate nation* taking a six-wicket haul in an ODI:
6/28 by Josh Davey (Scotland) v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi, 2014-15
6/41 by Chad Soper (Papua New Guinea), Mong Kok, 2016-17
6/34 by Zahoor Khan (UAE) v Ireland, Dubai, 2016-17
6/55 by Paul Stirling (Ireland) v Afghanistan, Greater Noida, 2016-17
6/43 by Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) v Ireland, Greater Noida, 2016-17
7/18 by Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) v West Indies, Gros Islet, 2017
*It is to be noted that Afghanistan and Ireland were Associates when Rashid and Stirling took their respective six-wicket hauls. Interestingly, the aforementioned game between the two sides at Greater Noida in 2016-17 is the only instance of two six-wicket hauls in the same ODI.
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