There have been many great bowlers to have played the test cricket since its inception. From the great West Indies pacers to the majestic Asian spinners, the tests have seen a plethora of legends. Hence, there has never been a shortage of quality bowlers in its 143 years of history.
In the recently concluded match between India and England, Ravichandran Ashwin took his 28th five-for of test career. He picked up the wicket of Rory Burns on the first ball of the innings – becoming only the third spinner to do so with the red cherry. The off-spinner became the bowler with the second-most number of wickets after the first 75 tests.
On that note, let’s have a look at the bowlers with most test wickets after 75 test matches:
1. Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
The first bowler to feature in this list is the Sri Lankan legend, Muttiah Muralitharan. The 48-years old has the record of taking the most number of wickets in the history of Test cricket. Muralitharan snared 420 wickets after the first 75 test matches – most by a bowler.
The off-spinner achieved this feat against England in 2002 at Old Trafford. In the first innings of this match, he took three crucial wickets and registered his name in the record books. England, though, were clinical throughout the match as they won the match easily by 10 wickets.
2. Ravichandran Ashwin (IND)
Ravichandran Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner, is the latest player to enter this elite list. As mentioned earlier, the 34-years old completed this milestone in the first test against England, at Chennai. Ashwin has grabbed 386 wickets in the given number of matches at a sensational bowling average of 25.48 with the ball.
Ever since his test debut, the Chennai-born has been go-to-bowler for his team, especially in the home tests. The off-spinner also holds the record of taking the least number of matches (54) to pick 300 test wickets. With only 14 more wickets needed, Ravichandran Ashwin will be hoping to reach the 400-wickets mark in the ongoing Test series.
3. Dale Steyn (SA)
One of the greatest fast bowlers of the current generation, Dale Steyn is the third bowler in this article. The speedster took 383 wickets, at a sumptuous average and strike rate of 22.57 and 41.71 in his first 75 matches. Among all the bowlers to have taken at least 350 wickets, Dale Steyn has the best strike rate (42.3) in tests.
The 37-years old achieved this landmark against Zimbabwe at Harare, in 2014. The pacer took eight wickets in the match, including a five-for in the first innings. His marvellous bowling performance helped South Africa register an effortless win by nine wickets.
4. Sir Richard Hadlee (NZ)
Sir Richard Hadlee is undoubtedly the greatest bowler ever to have played for the Blackcaps. No other pacer has taken more five-fors (36) and ten-wicket hauls (9) in the tests than the great Sir Richard Hadlee. The pacer took 378 wickets in the aforementioned matches, at an astonishing average of 22.34 in the whites.
The Christchurch-born has the second-most number of five-wicket hauls (33) after the first 75 test matches. In his 75th match, the 69-years old picked up a five-for (5/65) in the first innings at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, against India. New Zealand, though, lost the match and Hadlee’s bowling performance went in vain.
5. Glenn McGrath (AUS)
With 358 wickets after the first 75 matches, the Australian pacer holds the fifth position in this article. These 358 wickets came at a splendid bowling average of 21.28 with the ball. McGrath had 22 fifers in the mentioned number of matches.
The New South Wales bowler reached the milestone against the arch-rivals England in 2001. McGrath snared seven wickets in the match, including a fifer in the second innings. Hence, Australia won the match easily by an innings and 25 runs.
