Top 3 bowling spells in history of ODI Asia Cup 

In the Asia Cup’s lengthy and illustrious history, there have been a number of such performances by top-tier bowlers. There have been 15 five-wicket hauls in the ODI format alone, with Kuldeep Yadav and Dunith Wellalage putting their names to the list earlier this month.

3. Muttiah Muralitharan vs Pakistan, 2008

The best spell by Muttiah Muralitharan during the Asia Cup came against Bangladesh when he notched up a fifer. Batting first, Sri Lanka reached 332/8 from their allotted overs, with 130 runs from Sanath Jayasuriya and 121 from Kumar Sangakkara. The two of them opened with a partnership of 201 runs. 

In response, Bangladesh was dismissed for 174 runs thanks to two wickets from Ajantha Mendis and a wicket from Murali. Raqibul Hasan’s fifty and Nazimuddin’s 47 offered the Bangladeshi squad their only chance. Muralitharan was simply unstoppable that day as he spun the ball sharply in every over of his.

2. Mohammed Siraj vs Sri Lanka, 2023

Siraj’s spell got off to a hardly credible start as he repeatedly beat the bat in his opening over. As he took up to four wickets in his second innings and completely destroyed the Sri Lankan batting, things only got better.

Siraj’s seven-over new ball session resulted in six wickets for a mere 21 runs in an amazing exhibition of swing as well as seam bowling. 

1. Ajantha Mendis vs India, 2008

Ajantha Mendis was one of the most fearsome bowlers of his generation and this bowling performance justifies his stature.. In the 2008 Asia Cup final, where he produced figures of 6/13 to lead the Lankans to an enormous 100-run victory, he had one of his greatest performances.

Sehwag, Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, and RP Singh were all bowled out by the cunning spinner, who also used all options in his skillset. Only Sehwag as well as MS Dhoni gave a fight to the bowler but still he ended up with six wickets. Mendis finished this Asia Cup tournament with a staggering 17 wickets and was named Player of the Series.