Top 5 spells by an Indian in ODI World Cup warmups ft. Kuldeep Yadav

The warm-up matches for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 are underway, with New Zealand and Bangladesh mounting sensational run-chases against Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Friday, September 29.

Team India will play their first warm-up game against defending champions England in a mouthwatering contest on Saturday. While warm-up matches are often wrongly discarded as only practice, they play a significant role in teams building momentum to explode during the main tournament.

A case in point is the Men in Blue defeating Australia and New Zealand in the warm-up games of the 2011 World Cup. The results went a long way in building the much-needed confidence for the side to erupt during the competition en route to clinching the title.

Contrastingly, India suffered a crushing defeat to New Zealand in the warm-up match of the 2019 edition, a result that was brushed aside at the moment.

However, when the Black Caps eventually eliminated the Virat Kohli-led side in the semi-final, parallels were drawn between the two games. Numerous experts and fans felt the defeat in the warm-up fixture may have played a part psychologically and tactically in the semi-final. Similarly, ahead of the 2015 World Cup, India lost to Australia by 106 runs, a result that mirrored the semi-final of the main event.

While the warm-up matches were played against the county sides of the host nation until the 2003 World Cup, the 2007 edition saw the competing teams play one another.

As we look ahead to Team India battling England in their opening warm-up game of the 2023 World Cup, let us look back at the top five spells by an Indian cricketer in ODI World Cup warm-ups.

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#5. Harbhajan Singh - 2/17 vs New Zealand, 2011 World Cup

Harbhajan played a crucial role in India's 2011 World Cup triumph.

Following a hard-fought win against the Aussies in the opening warm-up game of the 2011 World Cup at home, Team India produced a more dominant performance against the Black Caps in Chennai.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, skipper MS Dhoni took matters into his own hands, scoring a brutal 108* off 64 deliveries to thrill the Chepauk crowd. His heroics, with a valuable 89 from Gautam Gambhir, helped India rampage to 360/5 in 50 overs.

New Zealand, however, did not concede and started brilliantly by rollicking to 94/0 in the 15th over. Despite losing both openers and being reduced to 118/2, the Kiwis were still in the game when Harbhajan Singh ended the run chase with his double strike.

The wily off-spinner picked up the crucial scalps of skipper Ross Taylor and left-hander Jesse Ryder in back-to-back overs to have New Zealand five down for 147. The side could never recover from the loss of those two pivotal wickets and were eventually bowled out for 243, resulting in India winning by 117 runs.

The Jalandhar-born cricketer finished with figures of 2/17 in four overs. Harbhajan was excellent in the World Cup, finishing with nine wickets at an impressive economy rate of less than 4.50 runs per over to help India win their second 50-over World title.

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#4. Yuvraj Singh - 4/12 vs Netherlands, 2007 World Cup

Yuvraj spun a web around the Netherlands batters in the 2007 World Cup warm-up game.

One of India's greatest limited-overs all-rounders, Yuvraj Singh, produced an unbelievable spell of 4/12 in 3.5 overs against the Netherlands in Florence Hall, Jamaica.

The Men in Blue posted a mammoth 300/9 in their 50 overs, following which the former left-arm spinner finished the Netherlands innings by picking up four of the final five wickets. His scalps included captain Peter Borren, seam bowling all-rounder Tim de Leede, and wicketkeeper-batter Jeroen Smits.

Yuvraj's spell ensured India registered a massive 182-run win for the ideal beginning to their 2007 campaign. Unfortunately for them, it was one of their last moments of joy in the World Cup as the side bowed out shockingly in the group stages with defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

However, spells like these eventually led to Yuvraj blossoming as a pure all-rounder during India's 2011 World Cup winning run.

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#3. Kuldeep Yadav - 3/47 vs Bangladesh, 2019 World Cup

Kuldeep wrecked the Bangladesh run-chase in 2019.

Kuldeep Yadav is the only bowler on the list who is also part of Team India's squad for the 2023 World Cup.

Following a horrendous performance against New Zealand in the first warm-up fixture of the 2019 edition, Team India needed a confidence booster against Bangladesh in their final lead-up game.

Led by a blistering KL Rahul century, the Men in Blue posted a formidable 359/7 in their 50 overs. In response, the Tigers were mounting an excellent run chase at 191/4 in the 36th over when Kuldeep produced his spin-bowling magic.

The left-arm tweaker picked up the wicket of Mahmadullah Riyad, followed by the vital scalp of Mushfiqur Rahim on 90 to all but finish Bangladesh's hopes. Kuldeep also dismissed big-hitter Mosaddek Hossain off the following delivery to cap off a magnificent spell with figures of 3/47 in ten overs.

Team India won by 95 runs to enter the main event full of confidence, leading to them finishing atop the points table in the league stage.

However, Kuldeep endured a disappointing World Cup with only six wickets in seven games at an average of 56.16. He will look to make amends in the 2023 edition at home and lead India to World Cup glory for the first time since 2011.

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#2. Munaf Patel - 4/10 vs West Indies, 2007 World Cup

Munaf was one of the bright spots for India in the 2007 World Cup.

Former pacer Munaf Patel shone brightly throughout India's short-lived and disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign. In their second and final warm-up game against the hosts West Indies, the now 40-year-old produced astonishing figures of 4/10 in six overs.

Losing the toss and fielding first, the Men in Blue bowled the Caribbean side out for a paltry 85 in the 26th over. Patel was the star performer, bagging the crucial wickets of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, and Dwayne Smith.

Despite India's poor showing in the main tournament, Patel impressed with four wickets in the three games at an average of 26.25 and an economy rate of under four runs an over.

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#1. Piyush Chawla - 4/31 vs Australia, 2011 World Cup

Chawla ran through the Australian middle order in a low-scoring thriller.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla produced the best spell by an Indian bowler in World Cup warm-ups with his four-wicket haul against Australia in 2011.

While his selection in the squad raised a few eyebrows, the Aligarh-born cricketer justified the decision with a sensational spell against the then three-time defending Champions.

On a dry Bangalore wicket, Team India posted only 214 in their batting innings and watched the Aussies coast to 120/2 in the 23rd over. With the result seemingly a foregone conclusion, Chawla scripted a remarkable turnaround to propel an Australian collapse.

The leggie picked up the next four wickets in no time to reduce Australia to 148/6 in an improbable five-over spell. Chawla's scalps included Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, and Callum Ferguson as India registered a stunning 38-run win out of nowhere.

It was the perfect beginning for the side that went on to clinch the 2011 World Cup, defeating Australia in the quarter-final before prevailing over Sri Lanka in the grand finale.