5 Bowlers With Most Wickets In India vs Bangladesh Tests
5 Bowlers With Most Wickets In India vs Bangladesh Tests (x.com)
Team India and Bangladesh share a competitive rivalry in Test cricket, in spite of a seemingly one-sided track record in favor of the former. The two nations have crossed paths 13 times in the format since the year 2000, and are set to add more chapters to their rivalry through the upcoming two-match series in India.
Celebrating India’s two-match Test rubber against Bangladesh, here at OneCricket, we take a look at five bowlers with the highest number of wickets to their names in the Test matches played between the two nations.
5. Shakib Al Hasan – 21 wickets
5. Shakib Al Hasan – 21 wickets (x.com)
Bangladesh senior man Shakib Al Hasan has picked up 21 wickets from 12 innings spanning eight Test matches against Team India. The legendary all-rounder has one five-fer to his name, and once snared a seven-wicket match haul back in January 2010 at Chattogram. Shakib also picked up six matches on a separate occasion in a match when the two teams squared off at Mirpur in December 2022, where Bangladesh came agonizingly close in securing their first-ever Test win over India.
The senior spinner holds a bowling average of 37.95 and an economy rate of 3.52 against India after sending down more than 226 overs in his career.
4. Umesh Yadav – 22 wickets
4. Umesh Yadav – 22 wickets (x.com)
Indian speed gun Umesh Yadav has racked up 22 wickets against Bangladesh in just six Test matches, thus marking his third highest haul against any single team after Australia and West Indies. Yadav’s magnum opus performance against India’s continental rivals came during the historic Pink-Ball Test of November 2019, where he bagged eight wickets in a match featuring 5-53 in the second innings. The right-arm paceman also skittled five Bangladeshi batters in the Mirpur Test of December 2022.
Umesh Yadav’s bowling average of 21.04 against Bangladesh also marks significantly better than his career average of 30.95.
3. Ravichandran Ashwin – 23 wickets
3. Ravichandran Ashwin – 23 wickets (x.com)
Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is third on the list of highest wicket-takers in India-Bangladesh Tests, having collected 23 scalps from just six matches. He picked up five of them in a single innings back in June 2015 at Fatullah, and recorded a match-haul of 6-137 at Mirpur in December 2022. Apart from recording a five-fer, the seasoned Indian cricketer has also claimed four-wicket hauls on two separate occasions.
Ashwin’s bowling average and economy rate of 26.78 and 2.98 respectively has compounded profound significance in India’s success against Bangladesh off late, in both home and away conditions.
2. Ishant Sharma – 25 wickets
2. Ishant Sharma – 25 wickets (x.com)
Indian paceman Ishant Sharma seems to reserve his personal best against Bangladesh. In seven Test matches against them, the right-arm fast bowler has logged 25 wickets at an exceptional average of just 20.88, which is significantly lower than his career average of 32.40 and his best with more than one Test appearance against any one opponent.
Sharma picked up nine of those wickets in a single game during India’s match-winning cause from November 2019 at the Eden Gardens. Recording figures of 5-22 and 4-56 across both innings, the senior fast bowler bagged figures of 9-68 in the same match.
1. Zaheer Khan – 31 wickets
1. Zaheer Khan – 31 wickets (x.com)
Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan pocketed 31 Bangladeshi wickets in just seven matches between the years 2000 and 2010. Across all 14 innings, Khan maintained a bowling average of 24.25 to mark his best average against any one Test opponent. The speedster’s career-best bowling performance in an innings also came against Bangladesh when he dismantled a Shakib Al Hasan-led side with figures of 7-87 back in January 2010 at Mirpur.
Zaheer Khan also holds his best strike rate against them, picking up a wicket once every 38.2 balls in comparison to his career strike rate of 60.4.