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Simon Harmer climbs higher! List of South Africa bowlers with most Test wickets in India

Aakash Saini

Most wickets by South Africa bowlers in India [Source: AFP Photos]Most wickets by South Africa bowlers in India [Source: AFP Photos]

Simon Harmer decimated India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to headline South Africa’s remarkable heist in November 2025. The cricketer also leapfrogged a number of legendary Proteas bowlers in the process to become one of the most successful South Africa bowlers in Indian conditions.

Here, we take a look at five highest wicket-takers among all South Africa bowlers in Test matches played in India.

5. Allan Donald – 17 wickets

Legendary South African fast bowler Allan Donald played just four Tests spanning two different trips in India, and picked up 17 wickets in them at a fearsome bowling average of 16.11, his best in any Test playing nation barring Zimbabwe. He picked up seven of them in his first match in the country itself back in November 1996, by claiming figures of 4-37 and 3-32 across both innings of the Ahmedabad Test.

Allan Donald claimed his final seven wickets during South Africa’s two-match trip to India in 2000 at an average of 19 as the Proteas clinched the series 2-0.

4. Makhaya Ntini – 18 wickets

South African pace icon Makhaya Ntini collected 18 Test wickets in India between the years 2004 and 2008. Bowling on some high-scoring surfaces, the speedster managed to maintain an impressive bowling average of 27.77 at a strike rate of just 53.1.

In his first-ever Test tour of India back in November 2004, the cricketer picked up eight wickets in two matches hosted by Kanpur and Eden Gardens respectively. In his subsequent trip to the country nearly four years later, Makhaya Ntini bagged 10 wickets in three Tests to help South Africa level a hard-fought series 1-1.

3. Simon Harmer – 18 wickets

South African first-class veteran and seasoned off-spinner Simon Harmer has harvested 18 Indian scalps in just three matches played in India. After claiming 10 wickets in his first two Tests in India back in November 2015, the Proteas star returned to the country exactly a decade later and delivered a career-defining spell at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Simon Harmer skittled India twice in the series-opener with twin four-wicket hauls in November 2025, which included sensational figures of 4-21 in the decisive innings to keep the hosts down to just 93 while defending 124.

2. Morne Morkel – 21 wickets

Former South Africa fast bowler and India’s current bowling coach Morne Morkel snared 21 wickets in Indian conditions during his playing days between the years 2008 and 2015. He maintained a Test bowling average of 32.28 in the country, and picked up twin three-fers in a single Nagpur match during his final tour in late 2015.

Morne Morkel’s India tour of 2010, however, yielded very little returns as the lanky paceman managed to haul just four scalps in three innings at an expensive bowling average of nearly 60 with a strike rate of 93.

1. Dale Steyn – 26 wickets

Legendary South African paceman Dale Steyn clipped 26 Test wickets in just six matches in India spanning three different trips from 2008 till 2015. In his first two trips in 2008 and 2010 respectively, Steyn proved himself to be a near unplayable force, as his electrifying 15-wicket series haul in 2008 helped the Proteas level the three-match rubber 1-1. In the second match of the same tour, Dale Steyn blew away India with an eight-wicket match haul, leaving the hosts crumble for just 76 in 20 overs in Ahmedabad.

He picked up 10 wickets in Nagpur in February 2010, but his match-winning twin spells were largely overshadowed by Hashim Amla’s epic 253*. Dale Steyn managed to play just one match out of South Africa’s four-match tour of India in 2015, which the Proteas ended up losing 0-3.