Amit Mishra has utilised his chances in Zimbabwe to give selectors a nice headache

Seldom has any spin bowler been a dominant force in an ODI bilateral series the way India's Amit Mishra displayed his tricks on Zimbabwe soil in the recently concluded five-match series. Having not played a game after being recalled to the Indian team in early 2013 for the ODI series at home against England, the leg spinner grabbed this opportunity with both hands. It could be argued that the India versus Zimbabwe contest was totally lopsided, but to take a world-record equaling 18 wickets is no mean feat.

Mishra reveled on the Zimbabwean pitches as he showcased his full quota of variations - the leg-spinner, the flipper, the slider, the googly, etc - with no danger of being counter-attacked by the opposition batsmen. Interestingly, Zimbabwe, who have over the years managed to produce leg-spinners like Paul Strang, Adam Huckle in the 1990s and Graeme Cremer in the 2000s, along with Tinotenda Mutombodzi and Natsai Mushangwe of the current generation, failed to come to grips when it came to facing the traditional craft at the big stage.

Statistically speaking, prior to the Zimbabwe series, Mishra, never shy of giving the ball a lot of air, had taken just 19 wickets in 15 matches. His 6 for 48, that help setup India's 7-wicket win in the fifth ODI at Bulawayo, was his career best performance. His previous best was 4 for 31 vs West Indies at Port of Spain on June 8, 2011. Interestingly, called on to bowl as the sixth bowler, Mishra's aforesaid figures are the third best by an Indian bowler at that position, next only to the six for 12 by Anil Kumble vs West Indies at Kolkata on November 27, 1993 and six for 27 by Murali Kartik vs Australia at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on October 17, 2007.  In India vs Zimbabwe games, Mishra's 6-wicket feat was the best by any bowler, surpassing the five for 27 by Irfan Pathan at Harare on August 29, 2005.

Apart from Mishra, Kumble and Kartik, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra (twice) and Sreesanth are other Indian bowlers to have captured six wickets in an innings in ODIs. Mishra is the third bowler to capture six wickets in an innings vs Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in ODIs, joining Fidel Edwards (WI) and Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka). Mishra's 18 wickets in the series is also a record by a spinner in a bilateral series in ODIs, surpassing A Mendis' 15 (ave.8.60) in five matches vs Zimbabwe in 2008-09.

Post his man of the match performance on Saturday, the 30-year-old heaved a huge sigh of relief that his hard work put in was rewarded. "I had put in a lot of hard work, feels good that it has paid off now. This wicket was a little slow, good for the batsmen, but the batsmen were not able to read my googly. The team management always told me to go for wickets."

Stats courtesy Rajesh Kumar and Mohandas Menon