India Vs New Zealand 2017: Top 5 Wicket Takers In India-New Zealand Matches
Jan 9, 2019 at 3:57 PM
Recently, New Zealand sent their A side for a tour of India before the main side got a thorough check of the conditions for the limited overs tour. They were thoroughly outplayed and lost both the unofficial Tests by an innings and the unofficial ODI series 3-0. The New Zealand main squad has a lot of players from the New Zealand A side. The Blackcaps would be hoping that their youngsters learnt how to get along in Indian conditions which might help them in the upcoming series. The Blackcaps pushed the Indian team to the limits in the ODI series last time; these sides met, barely 12 months ago. India managed to win the decider and eventually the series 3-2.
They will be hoping to better that this time for sure, given the side’s rich vein of utter dominance of late. India-New Zealand matches up in ODI’s has been pretty tight with India leading 49-43 in head-to-head matches. One match ended up as a tie, and five matches ended up without a result. Though India will be starting as favourites at home, New Zealand has enough ingredients to surprise Indians. We might be in for a cracker of a series.
Let’s take a look at top 5 wicket takers in India-New Zealand matches.
- Zaheer Khan:-
Zaheer Khan’s first ODI against kiwis was a heartbreak for Indian fans. It was the final of Champions Trophy 2000. Zak had a terrible day where he went for 54 runs in 7 overs which meant India lost a nail-biting final. But the southpaw recovered well from that outing at Nairobi and managed to pick 30 wickets off the next 19 innings against the Kiwis. To add to that, Zaheer was a part of the famous ODI series win in New Zealand in 2009.
- Kyle Mills:-
Kyle Mills has done very well against India in the first half of his career. He was part of New Zealand team which defeated India 5-2 in 2002/03. He picked up nine wickets in 6 games in that series. With time Indians started getting on top of him. He ended up with 32 wickets in 29 matches against India at an average of 34.
- Kapil Dev:-
Kapil Dev has been a champion bowler of India in the 80’s. He has played a lot of cricket against New Zealand. He ended up 33 wickets from 29 matches at an average of 27. During the glorious triumph of India in the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Series Down Under, Dev was a star in the games which featured New Zealand and often struck at the top.
- Anil Kumble:-
Anil Kumble in his very first series against New Zealand helped India draw the series in New Zealand by picking nine wickets in 4 matches including a 5-fer. He has done very well against the Kiwis picking 39 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 27.8.
- Javagal Srinath:-
Javagal Srinath has been the best bowler by far in India- New Zealand matches from either side. He has picked up 51 wickets in just 30 matches at an average of just 20. Especially in 2002/03 series in New Zealand, he picked up 18 wickets in 7 matches, which is still a world record for most wickets in a bilateral series by a fast bowler.