The emergence of T20 cricket has revolutionised the art of batting over the years with plenty of innovations and changes in the technique of the players to enable free flowing stroke play. The slam-bang format has evolved the game with shots all around the park, making it a dreadful place for the bowlers.
However, there are a few instances when the bowlers have dominated the shorter format of the game by picking up crucial wickets to break the backbone of the opposition batting unit.
With the eighth edition of the Champions Trophy about to commence in a week's time, the fortunes of the team will be heavily reliant on their bowling unit to make optimum use of the conditions and swing on offer in England.
With the iconic tournament round the corner, take a look at the five leading wicket-takers of the tournament.
#5 Glenn McGrath
Arguably one of the best bowlers in the history of the game, Glenn McGrath is known for troubling the batsmen with his consistent line and length.The right arm medium pacer was the spearhead of the Australian bowling department and combined with the likes of Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, and Shane Warne to form the most lethal bowling unit of the modern era.
The 47-year-old has fond memories of the Champions Trophy as he scalped 21 wickets in 12 matches with his best figures being 5/37 against New Zealand in 2002.
McGrath bowled one of the finest spells in limited overs cricket in that game as he wrecked the Kiwis with a brilliant five-wicket haul to take his side to a comprehensive 164 run win. The tournament, however, did not go according to the plan for the Aussies as they lost to Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second semi-final of the tournament after being bowled out for a low score of 162 runs.
He was part of the Australian squad for four editions of the tournament starting from the year 2000. Although he could not manage to pick up any wicket in the solitary match of the edition, he came back strongly in the next edition by scalping eight wickets in the three matches.
In the following edition, McGrath picked up three wickets in the three league matches and in his last appearance in the 2006 edition of the competition, he finished with 10 wickets in the five matches.
#4 Brett Lee
Brett Lee was one of the few bowlers in world cricket who could dismantle any opposition with their hostile pace. The 40-year-old consistently bowled over 150 clicks and troubled batsmen with his raw pace and bounce. The astute line and length of Glenn McGrath was complimented by the express pace of Brett Lee as they formed a lethal opening bowling combination for the Aussies and dominated world cricket.
Despite being bogged down with injuries throughout his career, Lee was a successful campaigner for his side in the Champions Trophy. Featuring in 16 matches, the right arm fast bowler picked up 22 wickets with his best figures being 3 for 38 against New Zealand in the same match where Glenn McGrath wrecked the Kiwis with a five-wicket haul.
The two fast bowlers picked up eight wickets which dented New Zealander and ensured a comprehensive victory for the Aussies.
Lee was been part of the Australian squad for five editions of the tournament with six wickets in the five matches of the 2006 and 2009 edition. He made his Champions Trophy debut in the year 2000 and picked up two wickets in the solitary match he played. He followed it up with five wickets and three wickets respectively in the 2002 and 2004 season.
#3 Lasith Malinga
The yorker king of world cricket has been the bowling spearhead of the Sri Lankan team for many years. An unusual action and a variety of options under his sleeve, Lasith Malinga is the most experienced bowler all around the world in the back end of the innings.
The veteran bowler is in the twilight of his career and will surely want to leave a long lasting impression, in what could be his last appearance in the Champions Trophy. Despite being plagued by injuries throughout his career, the side-arm bowler can take a lot of confidence from his performance with the Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
The 33-year-old has enjoyed a lot of success in this prestigious tournament as he scalped 22 wickets in the 13 matches with his best figures of four wickets for 34 runs. Malinga has featured in the last three editions of the tournament with the 2006 season being the most successful outing for him as he scalped 11 wickets in six matches.
In subsequent two editions, he picked up four wickets in three matches and seven wickets in four league matches.
The last edition of the tournament did not go as per plan for the Sri Lanka team as they lost to India in the semi-finals. After being put into bat, the batting unit managed a below-par score of 181 runs in the first innings. In reply, the strong batting line-up of the Indian team lead by Shikhar Dhawan’s half century, chased down the target with eight wickets to spare.
#2 Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan is regarded as one of the legends in the history of the modern era. The champion bowler bamboozled the opposition batting unit with his uncanny action and variations.
Muralitharan destroyed the batting line up of the opponents with crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs to dent their scoring rate. He bowled at his best in the Champions Trophy as he is placed in the second position for the all-time leading wicket-takers of the tournament.
In the 17 matches, he has picked up 24 wickets with an economy rate of just 3.6 runs per over. The off-spinner recorded his best ever figures of four wickets for 15 runs against Netherlands in the 2002 edition of the tournament.
His performance with the ball throughout the tournament resulted in the Sri Lankan team reaching the finals of the tournament. Unfortunately, a relentless downpour in Colombo meant the match had to be abandoned. India and Sri Lanka were declared as joint winners of the 2002 edition.
Muralitharan was at his very best in the 2002 season as he picked up 10 wickets in five matches and followed it up with nine wickets in the 2006 edition. He last appeared in the 2009 season of the competition and picked up one wicket in the two league matches.
#1 Kyle Mills
Kyle Mills, the right arm medium pacer from New Zealand, is the leading wicket-taker of the Champions Trophy with 28 wickets in his 15 matches at an average of 17.25. The Kiwi bowler was down and almost out with injuries in the early part of his international career but came back strongly to be one of the vital cogs in the bowling setup of the Kiwis.
Mills was accurate with his line and length and troubled the batsmen with his consistency to bowl in the corridor of uncertainty. Opening the bowling, the medium pacer would often give his side an early advantage by picking up wickets with the new ball.
Mills accounted for his best ever figures of four wickets for 30 runs in a league match against England in the last edition of the tournament. His exploits with the ball enabled the Kiwis to restrict their counterparts for a below par score of 169 runs. His efforts were not enough as the visitors lost the match by 10 runs and eventually failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Mills made his Champions Trophy debut in the year 2002 and accounted for three wickets in two matches. The 2006 edition of the tournament was the turning point of his career as he picked up 10 wickets in just four matches.
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