Azmatullah Omarzai
5 for 58 vs England
Champions Trophy, Lahore
In a must-win match for both teams, seam-bowling allrounder Omarzai tilted it Afghanistan's way with a serious spell at the death. Until this game he was known more for his new-ball swing, which reminded Sachin Tendulkar of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But he showed everyone that he could do the job at the death too, claiming the wicket of Jos Buttler before stopping Joe Root on 120 in the 46th over. England eventually fell nine short of their target of 326. When Root was at the crease, England probably felt like the game was theirs, but Omarzai snatched it from their grasp with a short ball that burst off the pitch and had Root glove behind. Fittingly, he sealed Afghanistan's victory with the first five-wicket haul by an Afghanistan seamer at an ICC ODI event, when he had Adil Rashid out in the 50th over.
5 for 58 vs England
Champions Trophy, Lahore
In a must-win match for both teams, seam-bowling allrounder Omarzai tilted it Afghanistan's way with a serious spell at the death. Until this game he was known more for his new-ball swing, which reminded Sachin Tendulkar of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But he showed everyone that he could do the job at the death too, claiming the wicket of Jos Buttler before stopping Joe Root on 120 in the 46th over. England eventually fell nine short of their target of 326. When Root was at the crease, England probably felt like the game was theirs, but Omarzai snatched it from their grasp with a short ball that burst off the pitch and had Root glove behind. Fittingly, he sealed Afghanistan's victory with the first five-wicket haul by an Afghanistan seamer at an ICC ODI event, when he had Adil Rashid out in the 50th over.
Matt Henry
5 for 42 vs India
Champions Trophy, Dubai
Henry, a familiar nemesis for India, was at it with the new ball again in an ICC tournament. In conditions that offered early swing and seam movement, he found his bearings straightaway, beating Rohit Sharma in the first over with a perfectly pitched delivery that seamed away to beat the outside edge. In his next over, he beat Shubman Gill's inside edge with a nip-backer and pinned him lbw for 2. Henry proceeded to have Virat Kohli caught at backward point, with Glenn Phillips pulling off a one-handed screamer. India recovered from the early blows with some partnerships lower down the order, but Henry pinned them back again at the death, showing how much his bowling in that phase had improved. After bouncing Ravindra Jadeja out in the 46th over, he drew a mishit from Hardik Pandya with a slower variation and helped limit India to 249.
5 for 42 vs India
Champions Trophy, Dubai
Henry, a familiar nemesis for India, was at it with the new ball again in an ICC tournament. In conditions that offered early swing and seam movement, he found his bearings straightaway, beating Rohit Sharma in the first over with a perfectly pitched delivery that seamed away to beat the outside edge. In his next over, he beat Shubman Gill's inside edge with a nip-backer and pinned him lbw for 2. Henry proceeded to have Virat Kohli caught at backward point, with Glenn Phillips pulling off a one-handed screamer. India recovered from the early blows with some partnerships lower down the order, but Henry pinned them back again at the death, showing how much his bowling in that phase had improved. After bouncing Ravindra Jadeja out in the 46th over, he drew a mishit from Hardik Pandya with a slower variation and helped limit India to 249.
Varun Chakravarthy
5 for 42 vs New Zealand
Champions Trophy, Dubai
Varun upstaged Henry with his own 5 for 42 in the same game, spinning New Zealand out for 205. After keeping him in the reserves for their first two group-stage games, India added Varun to the three spinners they were already playing, and he responded with a five-for in only his second ODI. Picked in the side as a wild card, he confounded New Zealand with his variations, which included the legbreak, wrong'un, slider, and even a medium-pace cross-seam dart at 113kph. New Zealand struggled to read Varun out of the hand and collapsed in a heap after a decent start to their chase. Four years before, Varun had endured a difficult time at the T20 World Cup, also in the UAE, being subjected to trolling for going wicketless against Pakistan, but he enjoyed sweet redemption by going on to win the Champions Trophy in Dubai.
5 for 42 vs New Zealand
Champions Trophy, Dubai
Varun upstaged Henry with his own 5 for 42 in the same game, spinning New Zealand out for 205. After keeping him in the reserves for their first two group-stage games, India added Varun to the three spinners they were already playing, and he responded with a five-for in only his second ODI. Picked in the side as a wild card, he confounded New Zealand with his variations, which included the legbreak, wrong'un, slider, and even a medium-pace cross-seam dart at 113kph. New Zealand struggled to read Varun out of the hand and collapsed in a heap after a decent start to their chase. Four years before, Varun had endured a difficult time at the T20 World Cup, also in the UAE, being subjected to trolling for going wicketless against Pakistan, but he enjoyed sweet redemption by going on to win the Champions Trophy in Dubai.
Kuldeep Yadav
2 for 40 vs New Zealand
Champions Trophy final, Dubai
New Zealand and Rachin Ravindra ran away to a brisk start in the final. Varun Chakravarthy was put away for 21 runs in his first three overs, but Kuldeep stepped in and stopped New Zealand in their tracks with the big wickets of Ravindra and Kane Williamson in successive overs. While Ravindra was left clueless by a fizzing wrong'un, Williamson spooned a dipping stock ball back to Kuldeep. The double-strike inflicted irreparable damage on New Zealand, who could muster only 251 for 7. Kuldeep outshone Varun, Jadeja and Axar Patel, setting up India's Champions Trophy title win and thrilling everyone with the rare art of left-arm wristspin.
2 for 40 vs New Zealand
Champions Trophy final, Dubai
New Zealand and Rachin Ravindra ran away to a brisk start in the final. Varun Chakravarthy was put away for 21 runs in his first three overs, but Kuldeep stepped in and stopped New Zealand in their tracks with the big wickets of Ravindra and Kane Williamson in successive overs. While Ravindra was left clueless by a fizzing wrong'un, Williamson spooned a dipping stock ball back to Kuldeep. The double-strike inflicted irreparable damage on New Zealand, who could muster only 251 for 7. Kuldeep outshone Varun, Jadeja and Axar Patel, setting up India's Champions Trophy title win and thrilling everyone with the rare art of left-arm wristspin.
Jayden Seales
6 for 18 vs Pakistan
third ODI, Tarouba
Seales sent Pakistan tumbling to 92 all out with his career-best figures in the only spell from outside of the Champions Trophy to make this shortlist. After blasting out Pakistan's top four with the new ball for scores of 0, 0, 9 and 0, he returned with the older one to clean up the tail and sew up West Indies' first ODI series win against Pakistan in 34 years. Seales finished with the third-best bowling figures for West Indies in ODIs and the best for them since the 1983 World Cup. The pick of the lot was the ball that made Mohammad Rizwan look silly. Seales went wide of the crease and got one to tail back in sharply, as opposed to tailing away, to trim the off bail, leaving Rizwan in disbelief.
6 for 18 vs Pakistan
third ODI, Tarouba
Seales sent Pakistan tumbling to 92 all out with his career-best figures in the only spell from outside of the Champions Trophy to make this shortlist. After blasting out Pakistan's top four with the new ball for scores of 0, 0, 9 and 0, he returned with the older one to clean up the tail and sew up West Indies' first ODI series win against Pakistan in 34 years. Seales finished with the third-best bowling figures for West Indies in ODIs and the best for them since the 1983 World Cup. The pick of the lot was the ball that made Mohammad Rizwan look silly. Seales went wide of the crease and got one to tail back in sharply, as opposed to tailing away, to trim the off bail, leaving Rizwan in disbelief.