Doosra
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A doosra is a particular type of delivery by an off spin bowler in the sport of cricket. The term comes from Urdu and in this context it means "the other one". (It literally means "second" or "the second one".)
The doosra is a relatively new type of ball, developed in the late 1990s by Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. The bowler bowls the ball with the same finger action as a normal off break, but holds the wrist turned so the back of the hand faces towards the batsman. This gives the ball spin in the opposite direction to an off break, causing it to spin from the leg side to the off side to a right-handed batsman.
The doosra is the off spinner's analogue of the leg spinner's googly, which also spins in the opposite direction to the bowler's stock delivery.
The doosra has been used effectively by its inventor Saqlain Mushtaq and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan. Other spin bowlers have been described as using it to varying degrees, including young Pakistani Shoaib Malik. Among non-subcontinental commentators, the word "doosra" is rapidly gaining currency as either a catch-all term for a delivery by any spin bowler which behaves in an unexpected fashion or as a synonym for "mystery ball".
Muralitharan's doosra was, however, the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2004, for illegal straightening of the arm at the elbow during the bowling action. Subsequent biomechanical tests conducted at the University of Western Australia in Perth showed that Muralitharan was straightening his arm by angles of up to 14 degrees when bowling doosras, well outside the International Cricket Council acceptable guideline of 5 degrees for spin bowlers. Muralitharan was subsequently instructed by Sri Lanka Cricket not to bowl the doosra in international cricket. In November 2004, the ICC conducted more research into illegal bowling actions and found that 99% of bowlers were transgressing the rules. A rule change was proposed. If this change is officially accepted at a meeting of ICC chief executives in early 2005, Murali's Doosra will once again become completely legal.
The doosra of Indian bowler, Harbhajan Singh, was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and TV umpire Mahbubur Rahman after the second test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong, Bangladesh in December 2004. It was reported that his arm is straightened by angles of up to 22 degrees, well outside the ICC tolerance levels.
Pakistani Shoaib Malik was also reported for his doosra prior to the first test between Australia and Pakistan in December 2004. Biomechanics tests, similar to those performed on Muralitharan, were conducted and a report on his action is expected prior to the second test of that series. Unlike many other cricketers accused of throwing when bowling their doosra delivery, Malik is also a capable batsman, and some analysts speculate that he might focus on his batting if prevented from bowling this delivery. Malik was omitted from the Pakistani team for the first test against Australia, although this was due to the reputation of the Perth pitch as being unfriendly to spin bowlers rather than as a result of the controversy.