The 5 biggest bunnies in cricket

In the recently concluded Test series against England, Virat Kohli was dismissed by James Anderson 4 times. In the series, he managed to score only 7 runs against him at an average of below 2! The first time the stylish youngsterscored a run offthe bowling ofAndersonwas in the 4thinnings he played against him. Though evident that Kohli struggled against Anderson, this was not the first instance a batsman has struggled against a specific bowler, and surely not going to be the last.Cricinfo defines a bunny as "Also known as rabbit, a member of the side who cannot bat and is chosen as a specialist bowler or wicketkeeper, and who almost always bats at number 11. It can be used to describe a player who often gets out to one bowler."Today, we look at some of these Bunnies over the years, as to how some batsmen simply could not find a way to play that one specific bowler in an otherwise illustrious career.

#5 Harbhajan Singh vs Ricky Ponting

The Turbanator has always given the former Australian Captain a hard time.

Harbhajan andPonting were nowhere near best of friends from the time they had something to say to each otherinan ODI at Sharjah in 1998.Ponting has since thenstruggled more against Harbhajan than any other bowler he played against.

On Australia's 2000-01 tour to India, he was bamboozled time and again by theoff spinner,scoringof 0, 0, 6, 0 and 11.

When Harbhajan was interviewedin January 2007 as to why exactly Ponting was unable to play him, the Surd classically replied: "He hasn't batted long enough against me, so I don't know."

Eventually just like all other friendship stories, IPL was the reason these former foes are now good friends. And the media want IPL banned. Sigh!

#4 Zaheer Khan vs Graeme Smith

Zaheer has accounted for Smith 12 times before he reached 20

Probably the second biggest bunny story since 2000, and before Hafeez made a mess of himself against Steyn in 2013, the biggest. 14 times has Zaheer got the better of Smith - 7 in Tests, 6 in ODI’s and once in a T20I’s. 8 times among these he did not require a fielder for a dismissal, having him rapped on the pads or clean bowled.

Out of these dismissals, 10 times has Graeme Smith been dismissed by Zaheer below 10, and 12 times below 20, meaning that he almost always got him in his first spell.

Such was Zaheer’s dominance on Smith that satires like these were floated after his retirement.

#3 Dale Steyn vs Mohammad Hafeez

Steyn has had Hafeez 10 times, the most in a calender year

The tale that we are going to tell the next generation, just as our forefathers told us about Wasim Akram and Desmond Haynes, and Malcom Marshall and Allan Lamb. Mohammad Hafeez was no short of pathetic in 2013 against Steyn, when he was dismissed 10 times by the pacer, scoring just 40 runs against him!

But it was almost the opposite of what one might have expected. The first time Dale bowled to Hafeez in an international match on 26th January, 2007, the first ball in their head-to-head battle was a full ball angling on leg stump, promptly flicked for four. Hafeez had flicked another boundary before the end of the over. Though he scored only 10, he was dismissed by Makhaya Ntini and against Steyn, he had eight runs off seven balls.

Overall, Steyn had Hafeez 15 times, the most any bowler had any batsman since the turn of the millenium. His 10 dismissals of Hafeez are also the most a bowler has ever dismissed a batsman in a calendar year in the history of the game.

#2 Glenn McGrath vs Mike Atherton

McGrath has the best Wicket/Match ratio for any bowler against a particular batsman

This one is so famous that the cricinfo glossary actually uses this as an example in defining the term bunny! And why wouldn’t it be? If you get a batsman out more times than the number of Tests you’ve played against him, you have to be a special kind of special. And who is to doubt McGrath was. It was almost like clockwork.

Yes, indeed, Glenn McGrath had Atherton out for 19 times in 17 Tests, a ratio more than 1 wicket per match! It was almost like clockwork. The Ashes would be underway, Atherton would come up to open, take guard, survey the field, survive the banter thrown at him from the Aussie close in fielders, try to forget how many times McGrath got the better of him in the past, edge one, hopefully look behind if it’s safe, after seeing the ball in Healy’s glove, walk back to the pavilion and add one to the tally. Infinite loop.

It never really helps when you have a career average of 9.89 against a particular bowler, after playing 19 Tests against him.

#1 Shane Warne and Daryl Cullinan

Cullinan’s 2.75 is the worst average by any batsman against a particular bowler

The biggest bunny story of them all. Daryl Cullinan had almost given up on deciphering Warne. Though the actual dismissals were pretty less, Warne was almost unplayable for Cullinan. He even took psychological help to counter the spin wizard! One of the most technically sound batsman of the 90s and arguably one of the best players of spin back then an average of a meagre 2.75 against the spin wizard though Warne got him out only 4 times did quite some damage to his reputation. He later on conceeded that Warne was too good for him.

However, Cullinan did have the upper hand on him once albeit non-cricketing reasons.

While Cullinan had just come to bat, Warne decided it was time to have a dig.

"I've been waiting two years for another chance to humiliate you." Warne said.

Cullinan's response: "Looks like you spent it eating". has made its way to sledging folklore.