3 bowlers with the most consecutive 4+ wicket hauls in ODI World Cup history ft. Adam Zampa 

The limited-over formats are often dominated by batters. Even in the ongoing ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023, it is the willow-wielders who are taking almost all of the limelight.

However, the role that bowlers play is instrumental, and successful World Cup campaigns are built on the back of strong bowling units. The adage that "batters win you matches, but bowlers win you tournaments" has largely been true, as seen in the World Cup-winning campaigns of India, Australia, and even the West Indies.

With the ODI World Cup being the grandest stage to play cricket, many bowlers hit their purple patches during the quadrennial tournament and set various records with their performances.

While the tournament has seen countless world-class bowlers, there have been only a few who have taken bucketloads of wickets consistently in a single edition.

On that note, here are the top three bowlers with the most consecutive 4+ wicket hauls in ODI World Cup history.

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#3 Shahid Afridi (PAK) - 3 matches

Shahid Afridi during Pakistan v India - 2011 ICC World Cup Semi-Final [Getty Images]

While Shahid Afridi's name on this list might surprise a few, he was a genuine all-rounder during his career. With his well-disciplined leg spin, which travelled quicker through the air, Afridi took as many as 395 wickets in ODIs. No other Pakistani spinner took more wickets than him in the format.

In ODI World Cups, Afridi bagged 30 wickets at an economy rate of 4.51 across 24 innings. While the enigmatic all-rounder featured across five editions, it was at the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent, where he proved to be exceptional with the ball.

He started the campaign with a five-wicket haul (5/16) against Kenya before taking four wickets in a tight win against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Afridi then continued his magic with the ball and bagged another fifer (5/23) against Canada, thus becoming the first-ever player to bag 4+ wickets in three consecutive ODI World Cup matches.

Afridi went on to take a total of 21 wickets in the 2011 tournament, joint-most alongside Zaheer Khan.

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#2 Mohammed Shami (IND) - 3 matches

Mohammed Shami for Team India [Getty Images]

It is incredible to know that Mohammed Shami has gone wicketless just once in his ODI World Cup career. The right-arm pacer has featured across 12 matches in the tournament and has an impressive 36 wickets at an average of 15.02.

While he played just four games at the 2019 ODI World Cup, Shami wreaked havoc with his bowling. In those games, he took two four-wicket hauls and a fifer.

In his first game of the edition against Afghanistan, Shami took four wickets (4/40), including a hat-trick. His heroics helped India win that game by just 11 runs.

Shami bagged another four-wicket haul (4/16) in the next game against the West Indies before bagging his first ODI World Cup fifer (5/69) in the clash against England.

Despite missing out on the first four games, Shami has begun his 2023 ODI World Cup campaign on a resounding note as well.

In the only game he has played so far, which was against New Zealand, the 33-year-old managed to take another five-wicket haul. Thus, he became the only Indian with multiple five-wicket hauls in the history of the tournament.

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#1 Adam Zampa (AUS) - 3* matches

Adam Zampa pumped up after a wicket [Getty Images]

The latest entrant on the list, Adam Zampa, took his third consecutive four-wicket haul in the recently concluded match against the Netherlands.

Where Australia bundled out the Dutch for a mere 90 runs in order to win the match by a historic margin of 309 runs, Zampa claimed the last four wickets and ended the spell with 8/4.

After taking just one wicket in his first two fixtures of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Zampa found his rhythm and took 4/47 in a game against Sri Lanka. In the following tie against Pakistan, the leg-spinner proved to be instrumental in Australia's defence of 367 runs, returning with 4/53.

Australia face New Zealand in their next tie in Dharamsala. If Zampa continues his immaculate form and manages to bag four more wickets, he will become the first-ever bowler to take four wickets or more in four consecutive ODI World Cup matches.