5 best bowling performances from Week 3 of 2023 World Cup ft. Mohammed Shami and Adam Zampa 

The ongoing ICC Men's ODI World Cup has completed its third week, and we have seen some exceptional individual performances. Hosts India and South Africa are currently the top two ranked sides in the competition and are currently playing the best cricket.

New Zealand are currently occupying the third spot with four wins in five games. Despite some exceptional individual brilliance from several players with both bat and ball, the only thing the tournament has lacked is a close game.

The third week saw India continuing their domination with resounding victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand. South Africa and Australia continued their quest for a semifinal berth with some exceptional performances.

Afghanistan also sprung a surprise by defeating Pakistan, which has given them some hope of qualifying for the final four. Everything is set for a cracking fourth week and we will get a better idea after its culmination.

That being said, let us revisit the 5 best bowling performances from Week 3 of the ICC World Cup:

Note: Only games from Match 17 (IND vs BAN) to Match 24 (AUS vs NED) of the World Cup have been taken into consideration.

# 5 Ravindra Jadeja- 2/38 vs Bangladesh in Pune (Match 17)

Ravindra Jadeja took the important wicket of Litton Das (Pic: Getty)

Ravindra Jadeja is having a brilliant tournament with the ball and carried his form in the third week of the competition. It was a brilliant performance from the left-arm orthodox spinner against Bangladesh, finishing with figures of 2/38 in his 10 overs.

He trapped Najmul Hossain Shanto with a flatter trajectory arm ball which skidded through and struck him plumb in front. Jadeja dismissed the well-set Litton Das after scoring a well-crafted half-century.

He never allowed the Bangladesh batters to press on the accelerator in the middle overs, which really dented their progress towards the final phase of the innings. His spell was instrumental in restricting Bangladesh to 256.

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# 4 Noor Ahmad- 3/49 vs Pakistan in Chennai (Match 22)

Noor Ahmad bagged 3 crucial wickets against Pakistan in his World Cup debut (Pic: Getty)

Noor Ahmad belongs to a rare breed of bowlers whose existence is very rare in the world of cricket. Despite being a regular for his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, Ahmad was finding it difficult to break into the Afghanistan playing XI due to the presence of some exceptional spinners.

But when he did, Noor didn't disappoint. In his debut World Cup game against Pakistan, Noor bowled quite brilliantly for a 19-year-old and took three crucial wickets to derail Pakistan's progress. His spell of 3/49 helped Afghanistan restrict Pakistan to 282.

He deceived Mohammad Rizwan with a googly as he ended top-edging one to the short fine leg fielder. Noor also dismissed two well-set batters, Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam, after they were well past their fifty-run mark. The spell proved to be decisive as Afghanistan scripted history, beating Pakistan by eight wickets.

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# 3 Adam Zampa- 4/8 vs Netherlands in Delhi (Match 24)

Zampa wiped out the Netherlands tail as they were bowled out for just 90 (Pic: Getty)

Adam Zampa had a tough time with the ball during the first two matches of the tournament but has bounced back strongly in the last few games and his name features twice on this list.

He was too good for the Netherlands' lower order as it took him just three overs to bag four wickets. His wrong uns were simply unplayable for players like Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt.

Australia had posted a huge score of 399 and the new ball bowlers had done half the job before Zampa came to wipe out the tail. He took the wickets of Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, and Paul van Meekeren.

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# 2 Adam Zampa- 4/53 vs Pakistan in Bangalore (Match 18)

Australian players celebrate the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed during the match against Pakistan (Pic: Getty)

Just when it mattered the most, Zampa delivered for Australia and kept their World Cup campaign on track despite a couple of early losses.

Australia had posted a massive 367 against Pakistan courtesy of splendid centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.

Pakistan started off brilliantly with openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam Ul Haq setting the platform with a 134-run stand in a shade over 21 overs.

Just when Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan looked comfortable in the middle, it was Zampa who took both the set batters in a quick time to derail Pakistan's progress.

It was Iftikhar Ahmed who turned the game for a moment with three sixes, but it was again Zampa who bamboozled him with a googly. He also took the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz as Australia won by 62 runs.

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# 1 Mohammed Shami- 5/53 vs New Zealand in Dharamsala (Match 21)

Mohammed Shami bagged a fifer in his first World Cup game in 2023 (Pic: Getty)

Playing his first match of the 2023 World Cup, Mohammed Shami bagged yet another fifer to dismantle the New Zealand batting line-up. He was lethal with the new ball, bagging the wicket of Will Young before returning to bag four more in his final spell.

It was an innocuous delivery which sent back Young before Shami dismissed Rachin Ravindra after he had shared a massive partnership with Daryl Mitchell.

Shami was at his incredible best in the death, wiping out the tail with some pin-point Yorker. A pearler castled Mitchell Santner before Matt Henry's stumps went for a cartwheel with another thunderbolt.

Daryl Mitchell was his final scalp as New Zealand were restricted to an under-par 273. India was tested on occasions, but in the end, it was a comfortable four-wicket victory for the Men in Blue.