5 top bowlers who have taken consecutive five-wicket hauls in men's ODIs

Sri Lanka's ace spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took his second consecutive ODI five-wicket haul against Oman in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers on Friday, June 23.

Hasaranga dismissed Jatinder Singh and most of Oman's lower-order in his 7.2 overs, ending with stunning figures of 5/13. Thanks to his exploits, Sri Lanka raced to a 10-wicket win.

Just four days before this, the leg-spinner took a six-fer against the United Arab Emirates at the same venue. His wicket-to-wicket line and subtle variations were too hot to handle for the batters in their chase of 356 and Hasaranga got three bowls and two LBWs in his 6/24.

UAE were bundled for 180 and Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive 175-run win.

With his display against Oman, Hasaranga became only the second Sri Lankan to pick consecutive five-wicket hauls in ODIs. Ashantha de Mel previously did so in the 1983 World Cup against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Hasaranga also became only the second spinner after Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq (1997) to achieve the feat.

In the history of ODIs, consecutive five-wicket hauls have happened 16 times, beginning in 1975. Eight of them have been by a Pakistani bowler and an equal number (including some Pakistani bowlers) have been by left-arm seamers!

On that note, here's a look at the five top bowlers to own the record.

#5 Gary Gilmour

Gary Gilmour was considered a man of exceptional talent.

Australian left-arm seamer and all-rounder Gary Gilmour was the first bowler to pick back-to-back five-wicket hauls in ODIs. And he accomplished that unique feat in some style!

In the first ODI World Cup in 1975 in England, Gilmour wasn't picked in the playing 11 until the semi-final against the hosts. On a green pitch with overcast conditions at Headingley, he bowled 12 overs on the trot (ODIs were 60 overs long).

Gilmour swung the ball both ways, and dismissed six of England's top-seven batters for just 14 runs.

Then, in the final against West Indies, he got the wickets of all the who's who of that time in Alvin Kallicharan, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. Gilmour ended with figures of 5/48.

Although Australia fell 18 runs short of the target, the left-armer ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker despite playing just two matches.

Gilmour died in 2014 after a difficult post-cricket life. He is remembered as an exceptionally talented cricketer who couldn't realize his potential for multiple reasons. However, many, including his former teammate Doug Walters believe he "played cricket for the right reasons."

#4 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi was just 19 years and 90 days old when he picked up his first ODI five-wicket haul.

In the 2019 World Cup match against Bangladesh, he dismissed six batters for just 35 runs in 9.1 overs at Lord's. He started with a display of superb swing bowling but slowly went to using his pace and awkward bounce to trouble the batters.

Defending 316, his spell made sure Pakistan won by 94 runs and ended their tournament on a high.

Afridi didn't play an ODI match for more than a year until Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan in October 2020. Here, the youngster rose up as the leader of the bowling attack, taking out both the openers.

Afridi then scalped most important wicket of Brendan Taylor, who scored 112, and then two tailenders to finish the innings.

#3 Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq was the first spinner to take consecutive five-wicket hauls.

Saqlain Mushtaq became the first spinner to pick consecutive five-wicket hauls. The first of his two consecutive such spells came in the 1997 Asia Cup against Bangladesh. Defending 320, he spun a web around the Tigers, picking up five wickets for just 38 runs and helping his team secure a massive 109-run win.

He didn't play again in the tournament as Pakistan's matches were abandoned. However, he continued his rich vein of form when India and Pakistan met for a five-match ODI series in Canada.

In the first match, he got Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Abey Kuruvilla and Harvinder Singh out to claim figures of 5/45. However, India still managed to eke out a 20-run win.

#2 Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman's left-arm seam would still give a few Indian batters nightmares. In his debut series, the youngster came out of nowhere to pick back-to-back five-wicket hauls against India at home.

Mustafizur displayed his subtle variations to great effect on debut. He dismissed Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin out while conceding 50 runs in 9.2 overs. Bangladesh impressively defended 307 to win by 79 runs.

He went one step further in the next match, getting Rohit out for a duck with his swing and then troubling India's entire middle-order with his variations. His 6/43 kept India to just 200 in the first innings which Bangladesh chased with 54 balls to spare.

Four years later, "The Fizz" became only the second bowler to pick consecutive five-wicket hauls twice. In the 2019 World Cup, he stood up for his team against their arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, though both of them were in losing causes.

He got Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar out in a spell of 5/59 against India. He then picked up five wickets while giving away 75 runs against Pakistan.

The 27-year-old (then just 24) ended the tournament as Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker and the fourth-best overall.

#1 Waqar Younis has picked up consecutive five-wicket hauls thrice in ODIs

You can write a book on Waqar Younis' five-wicket hauls in all formats and ODIs were no different. He's the only bowler to pick consecutive five-wicket hauls thrice and the only one to do so in three back-to-back matches.

The left-arm seamer, considered the greatest-ever by most, achieved most of it in just his second year in international cricket (1990). He took the cricket world by the biggest storm it has seen.

At just 18 years of age in April 1990, Younis claimed 6/26 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in the Asia Cup. By doing so, he became the youngest bowler to record a five-wicket haul, a record that stood for 28 years.

He followed that up with a spell of 5/20 against New Zealand, which included dismissing four of their top-five batters.

Just a few months later, when New Zealand and West Indies toured his country one after the other, he recorded figures of 5/11, 5/16 and 5/52 in consecutive ODIs in a span of six days. Eleven years later, in his prime, he bowled spells of 7/36 and 6/59 against England and Australia respectively.

By doing so, he etched his name in history and made a record that perhaps might never be broken.