If we are talking about great spinners of the modern era we can’t not talk about Saeed Ajmal who was one of the best and most difficult spinners to face in international cricket. Saeed Ajmal was the best spinner for Pakistan for a number of years and he was a bowler I loved to watch bowl and he picked a lot of wickets for Pakistan as well. We will talk about his records below.
Saeed Ajmal played international cricket for Pakistan from 2008-2015 and in only those 7 years he made a unique name for himself so much so that he is talked about in glowing terms still. He played 35 Test Matches for Pakistan and he took 178 test wickets which is more than 5 wickets per match at a very good average of 28.11 with 10 Five wicket hauls and 4 times he has taken 10 wickets in a test match. He also played 113 ODIs for Pakistan and he got 184 wickets at an astonishing average of 22.73 with 2 Five wicket hauls In his ODI career. He also picked up 85 wickets in T20IS for Pakistan in 64 Matches. So, let’s look at his Top 5 Best Performances
7/55 vs England (2012)
One of his best ever test bowling performances came against England in 2012 when he was at the peak of his bowling prowess and England bore the brunt of it. England were batting first in this test match and Saeed Ajmal tore apart the batting line-up and got a huge 7 wicket haul and giving away just 55 runs in 24.3 overs and as a result England were all out for 192 and Pakistan won this test match by 10 wickets. It was an exhibition of great spin bowling by one of the best.
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6/96 vs South Africa (2013)
I have included this incredible performance because of where it came at, it came at Cape Town which is not know for spin bowling and for Saeed Ajmal to go there and take 6 wickets In the first innings and set an example of how Asian Bowlers should bowl to get spin in overseas conditions. Pakistan may have lost that match but this performance from Saeed Ajmal where he gave away 96 runs in 42 overs and took 6 wickets will be one of his best ever.
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7/95 and 4/23 vs Zimbabwe (2013)
This was just a brutal reality check for Zimbabwe as to how it feels facing top quality spin bowling and they were simply blown away in this test match and just because it is Zimbabwe that does not mean I will ignore this 11 wicket match haul for Saeed Ajmal. Saeed Ajmal bowled 32.3 overs in the first innings and took 7 wickets for 95 runs and when it mattered most in the 4th innings he took 4 wickets for just 23 runs and Pakistan won that match by 221 runs in the end and it was another man of the match for the great Saeed Ajmal.
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4/32 vs Australia (2012)
This was one of the best ODI bowling performances in the career of Saeed Ajmal where he led the bowling attack of Pakistan to get a big win vs Australia. Australia were batting first in this ODI match and Saeed Ajmal took 4 important Wickets to stop the flow of runs and he Bowled 10 overs and just gave away runs at 3.2 runs per over and as a result of his excellent bowling Pakistan won this match by 7 wickets where all the other bowlers were going for runs. This was a special performance from a special player.
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5/24 vs India (2013)
If there was a low scoring thriller it was this one in Delhi in 2013 and Saeed Ajmal got his best ODI bowling performance that day when he got 5 Wickets for only 24 runs in 9.4 overs at 2.48 runs per over. Saeed Ajmal showed that day that he should be feared by all the batters in the world but that day India won that match by 10 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 157 but that does not take away from what an incredible bowling spell that was.
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