Doosra in Cricket

An off-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way — away from a right-handed batter.

What is a Doosra?

Literally 'the other one' in Hindi/Urdu. Delivered with an off-spin action but rotates in the leg-spin direction — away from a right-hander. Pioneered by Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq in the late 1990s. The delivery is fiendishly difficult to bowl with a legal action and has repeatedly come under scrutiny from the ICC for suspected throwing. Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh developed their own versions.

In play

Right-arm off-spinner fires one in — looks like an off break turning into the right-hander. It goes the other way. The batter's inside edge takes the stumps. He looks at the pitch in disbelief.

More bowling terms

• GooglyA leg-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way — into a right-handed batter instead of away.
• Carrom BallA delivery flicked off the bent middle finger, like a carrom board flick, that spins unpredictably.
• FlipperA leg-spinner's backspin delivery that skids on low and fast, trapping batters LBW.
• YorkerA full delivery aimed at the batter's feet, landing in the crease area.
• BouncerA short-pitched delivery that rises sharply to chest or head height.
• Reverse SwingWhen an old, rough ball swings in the opposite direction to conventional swing.