Nuwan Kulasekara is one of those underrated fast bowlers that Sri Lanka keeps producing from time to time. He was a player that did very well in ODI Cricket but was not able to make a mark in test cricket. His biggest claim to fame was being hit for the winning six by MS Dhoni to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He has played 184 ODIs for Sri Lanka and taken 199 Wickets. He has taken 1 Five Wicket Haul in ODIs. He also played in 21 Test Matches for Sri Lanka and was only able to pick 48 wickets
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Bowling Performances of Nuwan Kulasekara in ODI Cricket
1) 5/22 vs Australia (2013)
This is an ODI Match they Australia would want to forget as quickly as possible because in this match they were all out for 74 while Batting in the first innings. And Nuwan Kulasekara was the one who did the most damage as he Bowled 10 overs and he took 5 Wickets for just 22 runs at 2.2 runs per over. This was an extraordinary spell of fast bowling and his spell allowed Sri Lanka to win this match by 4 wickets with 30 overs to spare.
2) 4/40 vs India (2008)
This was another match winning bowling performance by Nuwan Kulasekara against a top quality team. Sri Lanka had made 223 in the first innings and Nuwan Kulasekara did not allow the Indian batters to get into any sort of Rhythm. He bowled 9 overs in this match and he took 4 wickets for 40 runs at 4.5 runs pet over. Sri Lanka won this match by a whopping 112 runs. Nuwan Kulasekara performed his best when the team needed him most.
3) 4/48 vs India (2010)
Another great bowling performance by Nuwan Kulasekara against India and another match where his bowling made the difference. This was an Indian team which was the best in the world and while batting first in this match Nuwan Kulasekara bowled 10 overs for just 48 runs at 4.8 runs per over and he took 4 important wickets. Sri Lanka won this match by 4 wickets and Nuwan Kulasekara was the hero of the match.
4) 4/37 vs Bangladesh (2017)
This was the second last ODI match in the career of Nuwan Kulasekara and yet he was winning matches for Sri Lanka. In this match against Bangladesh he bowled in the second innings and he destroyed Bangladesh in 7.3 overs as he took 4 Wickets in this match and he gave away 37 runs at 5 runs per over. Sri Lanka won this match by 70 runs and this list shows that whenever Nuwan Kulasekara performed at his best , Sri Lanka would always win the match.
5) 3/13 vs Zimbabwe (2009)
The 5th performance in this list was against Zimbabwe in 2009. This was his best 3 wicket haul performance in ODIs. This match was one sided se Sri Lanka won this match by a very big margin of 130 runs. Nuwan Kulasekara bowled 7 overs in this match and he only gave away 13 runs which is less than 2 runs per over and he took 3 Wickets in this match. Nuwan Kulasekara was a genuine match winner on his day for Sri Lanka. It is unfortunate that he could not replicate these performances in test cricket.
Check out here Rohit Sharma 264 vs Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens in Kolkata
