Top 5 spells by Ashish Nehra in international cricket

#4 2/33 vs Pakistan (Mohali – 2011 World Cup)

Nehra was in top form in the semi-final against Pakistan.

Post June 2009, Nehra was slowly taking up the role of the spearhead in ODIs, with Zaheer Khan in and out of the team due to injuries. He had also cemented his place in the ODI set-up in the lead up to the 2011 World Cup, although he managed to play only three games in the mega-event.

After a poor game against South Africa, Nehra was included in the XI for the all-important semi-final clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. Defending a par score of 260, Nehra might not have picked up early wickets, but he stemmed the run-flow, giving away only 33 runs in his quota of 10 overs, eventually picking up 2 wickets. His spell came during a critical stage when India were looking to put a lid on the scoring rate and wickets were not easy to come by. A spell of 2/33 in 10 overs was just what India needed from one of their most experienced bowlers.