In cricket, partnerships are quite crucial to bringing a positive result in favour of a team. Now, when we talk about partnerships, everyone starts thinking about batting, and they do play a significant role in setting the momentum.
But the effective alliance between 2 bowlers almost goes under the radar. When 2 bowlers perform collectively with the ball, they make sure the team inches closer to victory.
To praise the unspoken collaboration, here we list the top 10 bowling pairs with the most wickets in ODIs.
Most Wickets by a Bowling Pair in ODI
| Bowling Pair | Team | Matches | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muthiah Muralidaran (388), Chaminda Vaas (320) | Sri Lanka | 252 | 708 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (467), Sanath Jayasuriya (235) | Sri Lanka | 307 | 702 |
| Wasim Akram (295), Waqar Younis (293) | Pakistan | 197 | 588 |
| Chaminda Vaas (375), Sanath Jayasuriya (211) | Sri Lanka | 304 | 586 |
| Shaun Pollock (337), Jacques Kallis (225) | South Africa | 259 | 562 |
| Javagal Srinath (230), Anil Kumble (224) | India | 165 | 454 |
| Makhaya Ntini (247), Shaun Pollock (197) | South Africa | 157 | 444 |
| Shane Warne (211), Glenn McGrath (209) | Australia | 139 | 420 |
| Shaun Pollock (216), Lance Klusener (173) | South Africa | 161 | 389 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza (199), Shakib Al Hasan (187) | Bangladesh | 148 | 386 |
Key Insights
708: Sri Lanka’s spin-pace duo of Muthiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas holds the record for scalping the most wickets as a bowling pair in ODIs. The duo shared 708 wickets in 252 matches while bowling together.
4: Muralidaran, Shaun Pollock, and Shahid Afridi have partnered with 4 various bowlers from their teams, picking up 200+ wickets each while bowling in tandem.
Also Read | A Complete List of Muttiah Muralitharan Records
2: Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who have grabbed 588 wickets together, teamed up with 2 more common bowlers between them to skittle 250+ wickets each. Akram and Younis bowled in unison with Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed.
Here’s how the pairs fared in ODIs for Pakistan:
- Wasim Akram-Saqlain Mushtaq: 331 Wickets
- Wasim Akram-Mushtaq Ahmed: 297 Wickets
- Waqar Younis-Saqlain Mushtaq: 307 Wickets
- Waqar Younis-Mushtaq Ahmed: 279 Wickets
3.42: Australia’s pace duo of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath have the best wicket-taking rate per match. When both bowled in tandem, they would end up scalping an average of 3.42 wickets.
