Top 10 Leading wicket takers in Tests

Top 10 Leading wicket takers in Tests: In this game of cricket, the batsmen are considered the superior class and usually steal away all the limelight from the bowlers. However, some bowlers, with their immaculate abilities have outshone their counterparts. Whether a spinner or a fast bowler, bowling is not an easy job at all. It is a more physically demanding job as compared to batting. A bowler can take away the game from the hands of the opposition in the matter of just a few overs. Their importance can never be undervalued in the game. Test cricket is the most demanding form of them all. Since the beginning of this game, there have been bowlers who have been wonderful wicket takers in this format. These bowlers are important parts of the team plans and opposition always spends the most number of hours in decoding them. From time to time, bowlers from every generation have overtaken the previous milestones and have set newer records in terms of wicket taking. So, here we take a look at the Top 10 Leading wicket takers in Tests: 10. Harbhajan Singh (India) – 417: Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: Harbhajan Singh Facebook Page) Harbhajan Singh is known for his passion for the game. He is arguably one of the best off-spinners India has produced in modern day cricket. “Turbanator” as he is famously known, made his Test debut against his soon-to-be favorite opposition Australia in 1998. Bhajji has played 103 Tests for India and has taken 417 Test wickets until now. He has 25 five-wicket hauls and 5 ten-wicket hauls. He has a very special record to his name which every Indian cricket fan cherishes. Harbhajan happens to be the first Indian to take a Test match hat-trick. He achieved this feat against Australia in the historic 2001 home series. Also Read – Top 10 Highest Wicket Takers In International Cricket 9. Shaun Pollock (South Africa) – 421: Shaun Pollock. (Photo Source: AFP) A right arm medium-fast bowler, Shaun Pollock would trouble the batsmen with his nagging line and length. Pollock was the classiest of all South African seam bowlers. He hailed from a cricket-loving family and this game was in his genes. Polly made his entrance into Test cricket against the Mike Atherton led English side in 1995. Pollock finished his career with 421 dismissals to his name in 108 Tests which included 16 five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul. These numbers came at a very impressive average of 23.11. 8. Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) – 431: Richard Hadlee. (© Getty Images) Richard Hadlee was a tearaway fast bowler in the early part of his career but later focused on swing bowling which lengthened his playing days. For New Zealand, he changed its cricketing fortunes. Hadlee was the first player to reach the remarkable landmark of 400 Test wickets. He retired from cricket at the age of 39 in 1990 and finished with 431 wickets to his name in 86 Tests. Hadlee was described as one of the four best fast bowling all-rounders in the 1980’s with Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, and Ian Botham. 7. James Anderson (England) – 434: James Anderson. (© Getty Images) James Anderson is the chief weapon for England on seaming and swinging conditions. Currently, James Anderson spearheads the English bowling attack in Tests. As a rookie, he was little wayward but later become a lethal swing bowlers after he gained international experience. Anderson has played 113* Test for England and looks good to keep going for the coming years. At present, James ‘Jimmy’ Anderson has 434 wickets which makes him the leading wicket taker for England. He has achieved 18 5-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls in his career. 6. Kapil Dev (India) – 434: Kapil Dev. (© Bob Thomas/Getty Images) Kapil Dev wass India’s finest all-rounder. The right arm medium pacer is the India’s most successful fast bowler. The World Cup winning captain bowled at a decent pace and mastered the art of swing bowling as he aged. Kapil made his debut in 1978 versus Pakistan at Faisalabad and played till 1994 and ended with 434 wickets in 131 Tests at an average close to thirty runs per match. His best bowling figures of 9/83 came at Ahmedabad against West Indies. 5. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) – 519: Courtney Walsh (Photo Source: Getty Images) Courtney Walsh was described as a workhorse. He was the first bowler to reach the undreamed landmark of 500 Test wickets. Walsh had all the attributes of a fast bowler. He was tall, an unorthodox action and could send the ball at the batsman at high speed with the whip of his strong wrists. Walsh debuted for West Indies against Australia at the fast bowling paradise, Perth. Overall, Courtney Walsh finished with 519 wickets at an average of 24.44 in 134 Tests. His most memorable spell of bowling would perhaps be the 5/1 which he took against Sri Lanka in 1986. It is the cheapest five-wicket haul in the history of Test cricket. 4. Glenn McGrath (Australia) – 563: Glenn McGrath. (© Getty Images) Glenn McGrath was the most elegant fast bowler to have ever played the game. While most fast bowlers used pace to scare the batsmen, McGrath on the other hand, annoyed them with his tight and accurate bowling line. He widely regarded as the greatest fast bowler to have ever played for Australia. McGrath made his debut against the Kiwis at Perth and went on to take 563 wickets until he played his last Test at Melbourne against South Africa. He had a stunning bowling average of 21.64. His bowling performance of 8/24 came versus Pakistan in 2004. 3. Anil Kumble (India) – 619: Anil Kumble. (© PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images) Anil Kumble represented the unorthodox way of bowling leg spin. He hardly flighted the ball and never gave that ‘rip’ to his deliveries. However, his success as a leg-spinner is not a fluke. The faster ones and flippers were his wicket-taking weapons. Kumble used his well-built tall physique to vast use in his career. He debuted for India against England at Manchester in 1990 as a bespectacled guy sporting a mustache. In the 90’s, he developed as a leg spinner and became a threat to the opposition whenever he came to bowl. In the year 1999 against Pakistan, Kumble became the first bowler since Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings. Before retiring in 2008, he had 619 wickets under his belt and ended his career as India’s most successful bowler. 2. Shane Warne (Australia) – 708: Shane Warne. (© Getty Images) As far as the wonderful art of leg spin is concerned, Shane Warne can be regarded as the man who brought interest back to this form of bowling. No one can argue over the fact that he was solely responsible for the revival of leg spin and bringing it back into fashion. Warne’s career was never controversy-free, he was dropped a couple of times and in addition to that he had career affecting injuries too. But, he overcame everything to finish his marvelous career with 708 wickets and emerged as the best leg spinner ever. He had 37 five-wicket hauls and 10 ten-wicket hauls. Warne had many career defining moments which have been story-ed very often, but his most memorable performance came in the 2005 Ashes series where he claimed 40 wickets in the five-match series. 1. Muthiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) – 800: Muthiah Muralitharan. (© LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) Muthiah Muralitharan is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with an astronomic number of 800 dismissals. The only wrist spinning off-spinner, Muralitharan made spin bowling look very easy to the novices. Armed with the ‘doosra,’ the off-spinner was unplayable on turning tracks. His action was a subject of controversies at various stages of his career but he came out clean every time. The most amazing things of his career was the enormous amount of wickets have come in just 133 games at 22.72. In addition to that, he has 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 ten-wicket hauls to his credit. Also Read – Top 10 Bowlers with most international wickets in won matches (All Stats Updated Till 25th Jan, 2016)

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Top 10 Leading wicket takers in Tests

9. Shaun Pollock (South Africa) – 421:

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