 "Top five wicket getters in Asia Cup")
Asia Cup might be remembered for the brilliant innings of Virat Kohli against Pakistan in the 2012 edition, but no one can forget what Ajantha Mendis did to India in the 2008 final at Karachi’s National Stadium. Bowlers too have played crucial roles in the 46-year-long history of the tournament. If batters are responsible for India’s six titles in the ODI format, bowlers should also get all the credit for Sri Lanka’s five titles.
Muthiah Muralidaran
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The best bowler in international cricket history statistically, Muthiah Muralidaran has also been the best wicket-taker when it comes to the continental tournament. The off-break bowler picked up 30 wickets in 24 matches, which is not ideal by his overall career standards, but still makes him the highest-wicket taker. In his ODI career, Murali has a 1.56 wicket per match record, while in Asia Cup it is only 1.25 wicket per match.
Murali’s best figures of 5/31 against Bangladesh in Karachi. His strike rate of 46.06 in the tournament is also way below his career strike rate of 35.20. Murali’s average in the tournament was 28.83. Murali also known as the magician had his best outing in the 2008 tournament where he picked 11 wickets in five matches.
Lasitha Malinga
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Lasith Malinga, the man with slinky bowling claimed 29 wickets in just 14 innings, His success can be gauged from the fact that he played 10 matches less than Murali and yet was only one wicket short of him in the list of most wickets in the tournament.
His average of 20.55 and strike rate of 26.51 are second to only compatriot Ajantha Mendis among bowlers with more than 25 wickets in the Asia Cup. The best figures of Malinga were achieved during the 2010 Asia Cup in Dambulla. He raked up five Pakistani wickets for only 34 runs. However, Malinga’s best tournament was the 2014 edition as he took 11 wickets in only four matches.
Ajantha Mendis
If these wickets could have been counted for only the two best tournaments for any bowler, Ajantha Mendis would have won hands down. The carrom-ball expert picked up 26 wickets in only eight matches played across two tournaments in 2008 and 2014.
In 2008 he arrived as the most mysterious bowler on the cricket horizon bowling out stars like Yuvraj SIngh, Virender Sehwag, and Younis Khan at will. He took a whopping 17 wickets in the tournament including his best figures of 6/13 against India in the final held at Karachi.
His average of 10.42 and a strike rate of 15.69 are almost unbreakable. Unfortunately, Mendis could not continue bowling in the same rhythm for too long and his short career ended at only 87 ODIs for Sri Lanka between 2008 and 2015.
Saeed Ajmal
Saeed Ajmal is the only non-Sri Lankan sandwiched between four Sri Lankan bowlers in the list of top-five wicket-takers in Asia Cup history., The Pak off-spinner whose career was cut short after he was asked to re-model his objectionable bowling action.
Ajmal took 25 wickets at a brilliant average of 19.39 and a strike rate of 26.60. However, the Pakistani bowler has no five-wicket haul to his name and his best figures are 3/26 which he claimed against Sri Lanka in 2014.
Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the tournament. The wily old fox took 23 wickets in 19 innings at an average of 27.7 and a strike rate of 39.7. Like Ajmal, he too could not take a five-wicket haul in his 23 attempts. His Asia Cup career spanned between 1995 to 2008. His best tournament was in 2004 when he took six wickets in four innings.
