In the last One Day International of the 3-match series against Pakistan, West Indies team captain Nicholas Pooran took 4 for 48 in 10 overs. Before this performance, Nicholas Pooran had bowled only 9 balls in List A and First Class cricket and took one wicket. At the same time, at the international level, he bowled only 3 balls in a match. This is not the first time in ODI cricket, when a captain famous for batting has done wonders in bowling. Before Nicholas Pooran, Sourav Ganguly, Graham Gooch, Mike Gatting and Navroz Mangal have also achieved similar achievements in ODI cricket. Sourav Ganguly’s record is the best in all of these.
Sourav Ganguly (India) – 5/34 (10) vs Zimbabwe, Kanpur, 2000
Sourav Ganguly has also taken 100 wickets in 311 ODIs. He took 5 wickets (Pakistan and Zimbabwe) twice in his career. In the match against Zimbabwe, the command of Team India was in the hands of Ganguly. To bat first, Zimbabwe had scored 90 runs for 2 wickets in 24 overs. After this, Sourav Ganguly himself took charge of the bowling and took 5 wickets giving 34 runs in 10 overs. The result was that Zimbabwe were all out for 165 runs in 45.4 overs. Later Sourav Ganguly played an unbeaten 71. Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for 62 and India won the match by 9 wickets.
Graham Gooch (England) – 3/19 (10) v Pakistan, Cuttack, 1989
Graham Gooch bowled 10 overs and took 3 wickets for 19 runs in the 1989 ODI World Series against Pakistan in Cuttack. He was also adjudged player of the match. He took the wickets of Javed Miandad (14), Salim Yusuf (6) and Wasim Akram (0). Gooch made 4 overs maiden in his spell and restricted Pakistan to a score of 148 runs in 44 overs.
Mike Gatting (England) – 3/59 (9) v Australia, Melbourne, 1987
England’s Mike Gatting took 3 for 59 in 9 overs in an ODI against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1987. Before him in the match, 5 England bowlers were able to take only 2 wickets. Perhaps upset by this, Mike Gatting himself took command of the bowling. He took the wickets of Greg Ritchie, Dirk Welham and Dean Jones. England was successful in winning that match.
Nowroz Mangal (Afghanistan) – 3/35 (6) v Netherlands, Amstelveen, 2009
Navroz Mangal is the first captain of the Afghanistan cricket team. He played a key role in the victory against the Netherlands in his third One Day International. Top order batsman Navroz Mangal came in as the sixth bowler in that match and took 3 wickets for 35 runs in 6 overs. With his help, Afghanistan restricted the Netherlands to a score of 231 for 7 in 50 overs. Later, scoring 232 runs for 4 wickets in 46.4 overs, won the match.
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) – 4/48 (10) vs Pakistan, Multan, 2022
Nicholas Pooran brought himself in the 13th over in place of Romario Shepherd in the third ODI against Pakistan. He conceded 5 runs in that over. Gave 8 runs in the fifteenth over and took the wicket of Fakhar Zaman on the fourth ball of the 17th over. He also bowled the 19th, 21st and 23rd overs. He picked up the wickets of Iman-ul-Haq and Mohammad Haris in the third and fifth balls of the 23rd over respectively. After this, Pooran showed the way to the pavilion to Mohammad Rizwan on the fourth ball of the 25th over.