Magical spells in ODI finals: Indian fans couldn’t have asked for a better result ahead of the World Cup. The side was riddled with plenty of questions before the Asia Cup. There were few key players who returned to the side after a long injury layoff. India’s team combination was also under the scanner. A decent performance in the Asia Cup was the need of the hour. 

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India’s clinical showing in the Super Four stage:

But India turned on their beast mode in the tournament. After a shaky start in the first round, they found their groove in the Super Fours. India comfortably defeated arch-rivals Pakistan exposing more than one chink in their armour. They scraped their way to a hard-fought win over Sri Lanka and lost narrowly to Bangladesh wherein they tested their bench strength.

The Siraj magic in the finals:

Sri Lanka opting to bat first in a big final meant India had to do all the running. But with overcast Indians and weather aiding the seamers, Indian pacers made merry. Mohammad Siraj breathed fire as he picked up four wickets in a single over to leave Sri Lanka reeling. He finished with figures of 6-21 in 7 overs as Lanka was bundled out for just 50. It was one of the best figures recorded in an ODI tournament final.

We look at a few such Magical spells in ODI finals:

# Ajantha Mendis, 6-13

Siraj’s spell against Sri Lanka is now seen as India’s answer to the Ajantha Mendis story in 2008. Sri Lanka had famously not played Mendis in their league match against India in the 2008 edition. It was seen as a move to surprise the Indian batters in the finals directly. Mendis more than just lived up to the hype. After Virender Sehwag powered India to an outstanding start, Mendis turned the game in Lanka’s favour. His figures of 8-1-13-6 remained a scathing memory in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. 

# Aaqib Javed, 7-37

It was the finals of the Wills Trophy in 1991 when Pakistan took on India in Sharjah. Batting first, Pakistan scored a massive 262. The total was always going to challenge India but they didn’t know what was about to hit them in the chase. Coming in as the first-change bowler, Aaqib Javed ripped apart India’s batting. He picked up 7 wickets for 37 runs in his 10-over spell winning the tournament for Pakistan.

# Anil Kumble, 6-12

India played West Indies in the Hero Cup finals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The home team batted first on the sluggish surface scoring 225-7 with Vinod Kambli’s 68 being the top score. West Indies didn’t get to the best of starts losing wickets at crucial intervals. They were 63-4 at one stage and a partnership for the fifth wicket started brewing.

Anil Kumble then produced a magical spell of leg spin bowling to leave the Windies in tatters. From 101-4 to 123 all out, Kumble picked the remaining six wickets for just 12 runs. He was the sixth bowler used in that innings and he returned with figures of 6.1-2-12-6!