Pragyan Ojha announced his retirement from International cricket on Feb 21, 2020.
The 33-year-old represented the country in 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and 6 T20Is. Pragyan claimed 113 wickets in the longest format, he picked 21 and 10 scalps in ODIs and T20Is respectively. He took 424 wickets in 108 FC matches and has 279 wickets in 245 domestic limited-overs matches.
He made his debut in 2008 and played his last match in 2013, in a Test against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which was also Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th and final Test.
As he bade adieu to his international and domestic long-form cricket career, Team COC takes a look at five of his best performances in international cricket covering all the three formats of the game.
Check out the 5 memorable Pragyan Ojha bowling performances in international cricket
4/21, vs Bangladesh, Nottingham, ICC World T20 2009
India won the toss and chose to bat, putting 180/5 in 20 overs. Gautam Gambhir made 50 and Yuvraj Singh hit 41 in just 18 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours. When the time came for Bangladesh to chase down, Junaid Siddique slammed 41 in 22 balls, but then Dhoni brought on Ojha from one end and he started picking wickets to stem the flow of the run.
He took the scalps of Siddique, Shakib, Mahmudullah, and Mashrafe as Bangladesh managed just 155/8 and lost by 25 runs. Ojha finished up on 4/21 on his debut and was named the Player of the Match.
4/38, vs Sri Lanka, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, 2009
This match was the third of the series and was played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India batted first and put on a mammoth 363/5 in 50 overs. Virender Sehwag (116) and Yuvraj Singh (117) were the top-scorers in the match, while Yusuf Pathan contributed a quick-fire 59.
The task was tough and it only got worse as Praveen Kumar removed Sanath Jayasuriya for a golden duck. Kumar Sangakkara made 83, but Pragyan Ojha’s 4/38 in 10 overs was enough to keep Sri Lanka to 216 runs, as he picked wickets of Sangakkara, Kapugedera, Maharoof, and Muralitharan. India won the match by 147 runs.
5/45 & 4/120, vs England, Ahmedabad, 2012
This was the first Test match between India and England of the four-match series and was played at Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad.
India batted first and put on 521/8d with Cheteshwar Pujara making 206* and Sehwag making 115 and Yuvraj scoring 74 runs. India needed to put England in pressure and that they did thanks to Pragyan Ojha’s 5/45, as England crumbled to 191 all out. Matt Prior made 48 and Alastair Cook made 41 runs. It was a superlative performance by Ojha, who turned the ball sharply and even managed to get some bounce from the wicket.
England piled up up 406 while following on. Cook (176) and Prior (91) were the heroes with the bat. Ojha shined in the second innings as well, picking 4/120. India won the match by 9 wickets.
5/99, vs New Zealand, Bengaluru, 2012
Ojha picked 5/99 in 28.1 overs removing the likes of Williamson, Taylor, Franklin, and Southee. India made 353 runs with Kohli making 103 and half-centuries coming from Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Tim Southee picked 7/64. In reply, New Zealand slammed 248 runs, with Ashwin picking 5/69 and Ojha also scalping 2/49 in 21 overs.
India needed to chase 261 runs and they did it with Kohli making 51* and contributions from the top order. India won the match by 5 wickets.
5/40 & 5/49, vs West Indies, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, 2013
A special match at the Wankhede Stadium between India and West Indies, which was the 200th Test for Sachin Tendulkar and Pragyan Ojha decided to make the man, who gave him his India cap on Test debut, proud as after picking a fifer in the first innings, Ojha repeated the feat in the whole match.
West Indies batted first and managed to put on 182 runs with Kieran Powell making 48 and Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Narsingh Deonarine making 20-odd runs. With the ball, it was a memorable match for Pragyan Ojha as he picked 5/40 in just 11.2 overs and along with R Ashwin, who picked 3/45, ran through the Windies side.
India had slammed 495 runs with Pujara and Rohit scoring centuries and Kohli making 57, while Sachin scoring 74 in his final Test match innings. West Indies, who had made 182 runs in the first innings, could only manage 187 in the second innings. Denesh Ramdin made 53, Chanderpaul got 41 and Gayle made 35. But it was Ojha, who picked 5/49 in 18 overs and made it 10/89 in the match.
Ojha was named Player of the Match for his 10-wicket haul and Player of the Series as well. Unfortunately, this not only proved to be the final Test for Sachin Tendulkar, but also the last time Pragyan Ojha turned out for Indian team in international cricket. But it was an amazing performance from the Hyderabad southpaw spinner, something that is remembered till now.