Fast-bowler Gurnoor Brar on Saturday (June 20) broke the record for most wickets by a bowler in his maiden men’s ODI series (only the ones with three matches) for India, while bowling against Afghanistan
in the third ODI in Chennai on Saturday (June 20). The previous record was six wickets, jointly held by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (against Zimbabwe in 2016) and pacer Prasidh Krishna (against England in 2021).
The right-arm quick picked up 3/27 in the first ODI and followed it up with 3/60 in the second. He needed only one wicket to break the record and had to wait seven overs in the sweltering heat to achieve it.
Although the wicket column remained empty for much of his spell, Brar consistently generated pace between 140-145 kmph, extracting steep bounce and troubling Afghanistan’s batters with hard lengths and sharp seam movement. He repeatedly beat the outside edge of Ibrahim Zadran, struck him on the helmet with a hostile short ball, and forced several uncomfortable defensive strokes through relentless accuracy.
There were moments of frustration, including two no-balls and a handful of boundaries, but Brar never lost his intensity. Returning for a later spell, he switched effectively between hard lengths and short-pitched deliveries, keeping Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi under pressure.
His breakthrough finally arrived in the 38th over when a 138.6 kmph back-of-a-length delivery stayed unusually low and crashed into Nabi’s off stump.
Gurnoor Brar — find of the series
Gurnoor, who hails from Punjab, has been one of the finds of the series. There were several doubts about him when he was picked for the rubber without any notable IPL performances or eye-catching domestic spells. However, he has been extremely impressive, offering pace and bounce with consistency.
He has been far from perfect — there have been clear spells where he has lacked the control to make him challenge Harshit Rana’s place in the ODI set-up. But he has shown enough to be considered the find of the series, someone who can be reliably called upon for specific matches in suitable conditions for pace.
