Left arm spin bowling is still considered to be one of the best weapons a team can have to beat their opposition. Be it orthodox or chinaman, the angle created by a left arm spinner disturbs most of the batters. In this article we shall take a look upon best bowling performances by left arm spinners.
Ravindra Jadeja – The left handed all rounder who has been one of the permanent members of Indian Team across all formats from a decade is no doubt a world class all rounder. His lightning quick fielding skills make him a complete package. With over 200 wickets in Test and over 180 wickets in ODIs, Jadeja has proved his worth time and again.His figures of 5/36 in 10 overs against West Indies in 2013 Champions Trophy remain his best bowling performance in ODIs. The West Indian team were dismissed for 233 and India won the match easily by 8 wickets. Jadeja was declared Man of the Match for his match winning bowling.
Sanath Jayasuria – The swashbuckling left handed opener from Sri Lanka who was famous for scoring runs at quick rate.His opening batting along with Romesh Kaluwitharna is still considered to be one of the best opening pairs in ODIs.Sanath also used to bowl left arm spin and has over 300 ODI wickets to his name. His best bowling performance came in 1993 when England toured Sri Lanka. In 2nd ODI he claimed 6 wickets just by giving away 29 runs in 9.5 overs. The England team were dismissed at 180 and Sri Lanka easily won the match by 8 wickets.He was awarded Man Of The Match for his performance.
Daniel Vettori – Probably the Greatest player New Zealand has seen after Sir Richard Hadlee. The left arm othodox spinner was an all-rounder. He made many significant contributions with the bat as well. His performance against Bangladesh in the 2007 ODI at Queenstown made him the first Kiwi left arm spinner to take a five wicket haul. He achieved an astounding figure of 5 for 7 in just 6 overs in that match and also became Man of the Match. The Bangladeshi batters had no answer to his magical bowling and the team was all out on 95. New Zealand easily won that match by 10 wickets.
Sunil Joshi – The left arm orthodox Indian spinner who could also bat a bit. Sunil represented India in 69 ODIs and took 69 wickets. He also took 41 wickets in 15 test matches. However his most memorable performance came in 1999 against South Africa at Nairobi. He finished the match with figures of 5 for 6 in his 10 overs out of which 6 were maiden. These were the best bowling figures achieved by an Indian left arm spinner till Murali Karthik broke that record.He also became player of the match for his unreal performance.
Kuldeep Yadav – The left arm chinaman whose pair with Yuzvendra Chahal was famously known as ‘Kulcha’, made a huge name for himself by winning a lot of matches for India during 2016-19. He also has claimed 2 hat tricks in ODIs. His best performance came in 2018 when India toured England. In the 2nd ODI at Nottingham, Kuldeep finished the match with amazing figures of 6/25 in 10 overs. His googly and leg spin bamboozled English batters. The English team were bowled out for 268 and India won the match easily by 8 wickets. Kuldeep was adjudged the Man of the Match for his tremendous performance
