2011 World Cup: Top 5 Most Wicket-Takers
Jun 27, 2020 at 2:15 PM
India finished their 28-year-long wait to win their second Cricket World Cup trophy by winning the 2011 World Cup trophy (officially known as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011). Like the many reputed batsmen, many famous bowlers also enjoyed during this coveted tournament.
Though both the pacers and spinners played the vital roles in the 2011 World Cup, the spinners were more effective in that particular tournament.
Here we are talking about the top five most wicket-takers in the 2011 World Cup.
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) – 15 wickets
The legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan retired from the international cricket after the final of the 2011 World Cup, where his team finished as the runners-up. Sri Lanka’s most wicket-taker in that tournament Muralitharan took 15 wickets in that tournament after bowling in eight innings.
At the end of that tournament, the Sri Lankan off-spinner had the overall bowling figures of 71-1-291-15 with an average of 19.40 and economy rate of 4.09. His best bowling figures in that tournament was 8-0-25-4 against New Zealand during the Group Stage of the tournament (at Mumbai on 18th March 2011).
Robin Peterson (South Africa) – 15 wickets
South African left-arm spinner Robin Peterson hugely impressed during the 2011 World Cup. He was the most wicket-taker for South Africa in that tournament where he picked up 15 wickets in seven matches of that tournament. His overall bowling figures in that tournament were 56-5-238-15 with an average of 15.86 and economy rate of 4.25.
During that tournament, Peterson had the best bowling figures of 7-3-12-4. He achieved that bowling figures during the Group Stage match against the co-hosts Bangladesh at Dhaka on 19th March 2011.
Tim Southee (New Zealand) – 18 wickets
While New Zealand team reached the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup, their right-arm pacer Tim Southee was consistent with the ball in hand. New Zealand’s most wicket-taker in that tournament Southee finished with 18 wickets in eight matches.
Southee finished that tournament with the overall bowling figures of 72.2-9-312-18. During that tournament, though Southee didn’t manage to claim any four-wicket haul or more, he claimed three-wicket hauls for five times. His best bowling figures in that tournament were 6-0-13-3 against Kenya during the Group Stage of that tournament.
Zaheer Khan (India) – 21 wickets
While the Indian team won the 2011 World Cup, the experienced left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan played a very crucial role with the ball in hand as he was highly consistent during that entire tournament. Khan finished that tournament as the joint-most wicket-taker as he bagged 21 wickets in nine matches.
At the end of that tournament, Khan had the overall bowling figures of 81.3-4-394-21 with an average of 18.76 and economy rate of 4.83. Apart from the Group Stage match against South Africa (at Nagpur on 12th March 2011), where he had the bowling figures of 10-0-43-1, Khan managed to pick up at least two wickets in every innings of that tournament. His best bowling figures in an innings of that tournament were 6.4-0-20-3 against the Netherlands at Delhi on 9th March 2011 (during the Group Stage).
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 21 wickets
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi dominated with the ball in hand during the 2011 World Cup. The leg-spinner finished that tournament as the joint-most wicket-taker by picking up 21 wickets but in eight matches. His overall bowling figures in that global tournament were 74.3-4-270-21 with an outstanding average of 12.85 and economy rate of 3.62.
During that tournament, Afridi managed to claim two five-wicket hauls and two four-wicket hauls. In that tournament, he was the only bowler to claim more than one five-wicket hauls. During the Group Stage of that tournament, Afridi had the bowling figures of 8-3-16-5 against Kenya (at Hambantota on 23rd February 2011) and 10-0-23-5 against Canada (at Colombo, RPS on 3rd March 2011).