Credit: ICC
On February 9, 1970, Australia former pacer Glenn McGrath was born in Dubbo, New South Wales to Beverly and Kevin McGrath. The lanky Australian broke into international cricket with the Test match against New Zealand at WACA in November 1993. In his 14-year international career for Australia, he achieved some incredible feats with the ball. He grabbed 563 wickets in 243 innings of 124 Tests and still holds the record of being the second-most successful bowler in the format for Australia.
His ODI records are also sensational as he retired with 381 wickets in 250 matches played between 1993 to 2007. As a player, he made a major contribution to the Aussie side’s three World Cup title triumphs from 1999 to 2007. Bagging 71 wickets in 39 World Cup matches, he is the leading wicket-taker in the illustrious ODI event. In his team’s fourth World Cup victory, the speedster chipped in with 26 wickets in 11 matches and ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the competition. 
McGrath’s dominating ODI numbers against legends
His rivalry with India’s Sachin Tendulkar used to be a mouth-watering contest for cricket supporters. In the 50-over format, both legends confronted each other on 12 occasions with Glenn McGrath enjoying success four times while the Master could manage only 88 runs in 142 balls. In the 2003 final between India and Australia in Johannesburg, Tendulkar was opening the batting while chasing a mammoth score of 359 and his responsibility was to give the team a fierce start. The opener hit a four on the fourth delivery of the innings, but McGrath showed his excellence the next delivery by dismissing him. Earlier, McGrath dominated Tendulkar in the 1999 World Cup game between the same teams at The Oval in London.
Also, Glenn McGrath holds exceptional numbers against legendary batters in ODIs. Against West Indies batting icon Brian Lara, he splurged runs at an average of 20.66, while the star West Indian fell thrice against the lanky Australia. His numbers are magnificent against former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara. Kallis has fallen seven times, while the Sri Lankan has lost three battles against the Aussie bowling great.
