Best Bowling Figures For England In Tests In India
England goes one up against India in the five-match Test series (X.com)
The amount of thrill, joy and excitement a Test match carries in players and the admirers of the game is unparalleled. What actually makes a Test match interesting is match-winning performances throughout the course of five days, considering the intensity of the match. The encounters between India and England are always filled with high intensity and thrill, especially when bowlers give their all to win it for their respective teams.
The first Test match of the ongoing Test series between the cricketing giants was nothing short of an absolute thriller as the Englishmen snatched the victory by a mere margin of 28 runs. The debutant Tom Hartley turned out to be a nightmare for the Indian batters and scalped nine wickets in his debut match, registering one of the best bowling figures by an Englishman in India.
Let's have a look at the best bowling figures from an English bowler in the longest format in India.
John Lever - 7/46, Delhi, 1976
John Lever (X.com)
A long time ago, when India used to have the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Bishan Singh Bedi, India hosted a five-match Test series for England. The visitors brought a debutant named John Lever along with the elite players. John was a left-arm seamer and made his debut in the very first match of the series.
While batting first, England posted a total of 381, with the debutant John scoring 53 runs at the back end. The one who was brought in for his skills with the ball went on to surprise the hosts. When it came to bowling, Lever went on to scalp seven wickets for just 46 runs in Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground and registered his name at the top for the best figures by an English bowler in Indian conditions.
Ian Botham - 7/48, Mumbai, 1980
Ian Botham (X.com)
In 1980, on the iconic venue of Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium, Ian Botham delivered one of the best bowling performances of all time. Well, not just bowling as he also hammered a century and helped England seal a victory in the Only Test against India. As an all-rounder, he picked a total of 13 wickets and scored 114 runs.
In the first innings he picked six wickets, while in the second innings, he registered the second-best bowling figures by any English player in the longest format in India, by scalping seven wickets for just 48 runs. England won the Test comprehensively by the margin of 10 wickets and Botham was adjudged as the Player of the Match.
Hedley Verity - 7/49, Chennai, 1934
A long time ago, when India wasn't even an independent country, a three-match Test series against England was hosted. The Britishers emerged as the winners, sealing the series by 2-0, and Hedley Verity, the slow left-arm bowler registered the third-best bowling figures by an Englishmen in Indian conditions by scalping seven wickets for just 49 runs.
On one of the pitches that supremely favours the spinners, Chennai, Hedley had an amazing time and picked up a total of 11 wickets in the third Test and helped his team win the game by a huge margin of 10 wickets.
Tom Hartley - 7/62, Hyderabad, 2023*
Tom Hartley (X.com)
In the recently concluded first Test of the five-match Test series against India in Hyderabad, England brought a debutant in Tom Hartley, the slow left-arm orthodox bowler. On his very first ball, Hartley was smacked for a six and gave around 30 runs in his first three overs, but he turned things around in the second innings and won the game for England.
With Ollie Pope's magnificent 194-run knock, England managed to post a target of 231 runs and all they had to do was bowl India out. Jack Leach, the frontline spinner wasn't feeling good with his hamstring, but it was Tom Hartley, who stood up and scalped seven wickets in the second innings for 61 runs and took England home. With a total of nine wickets and two little cameos, England have found a gem in Hartley.
.jpg "Bizare run-out")
.jpg "Aakash Chopra On Kohli's captaincy resignation")
 "Saksham Chugh")
