It is often said that batsmen win you matches, but bowlers win you series. If you have ever doubted that, then let it be said that to live under a rock is absolutely a man's own choice and still very much
free of cost. But ask several of tired, helpless and angst-ridden batters who earned flak for not being able to stand up to what some of India's finest magicians in red-ball cricket challenged them with and you'd find that whether it were the spinners or the fast bowlers, many great Indian cricketers spun magic with spin and made connecting the ball, whether on placid or hard turfs particularly difficult since it was never easy facing them.
A great many of them have retired and earned the regard of worldwide fans. But some are still around to become menace and menace they have. That being told, let us take a look at an article that aims to underline respect where it's due: the men with most five-wicket hauls for India in Test cricket.
Here's the list of most five-wicket hauls for India in Test cricket:
Ravichandran Ashwin - 37
The trailblazing spinner took 37 five-wicket hauls and the fiercely competitive and fearlessly opinionated Chennai-born cricketer has left a huge void in Indian cricket ever since his international retirement. The intelligence required to read, play and attack, Ashwin may never really be a cup of tea for those for whom batting is about simply hitting. Whether Williamson or Root, Babar Azam or Kohli himself (in the IPL), have all tasted the bitterness of when the ball beats the outside edge and at worst, clips it to lead to the batter's downfall. What a shame that despite being fit he ain't playing. But 37 fifers - really is a thing to cherish, especially since it comes to five-day cricket.
Anil Kumble - 35
The great Anil Kumble is a legend like few others. But certainly not the man Pakistan would ever forget given the tectonic events that happened many a moon ago in Delhi where all ten wickets fell to one man and one alone, India's much loved son.
His 35 five wicket hauls are much like his own nickname and what a jumbo achievement it is, isn't it?
Harbhajan Singh - 25
Before seriously ridiculous statements and debatable one liners from behind the mic and even what's been quoted in print made more headlines than what the man with 25 five-wicket hauls would have himself liked (no small achievement, ever), Harbhajan Singh used to be incredible much like the turn his off spinners take. Not that the good hearted cricketer who has a penchant for regrettable statements hasn't excelled for India in Tests; ask the entire Australian cricket team and that 2000-01 Test series and the 'Turbanator' magic, one of our game's finest ever memories.
He will always be among the finest ambassadors for the spirit that Punjab and its finest cricketers imbue; one that's meant for total commitment to the team and with unwavering magic. But ex-cricketers have a responsibility of putting forth tales and statements that those watching may make draw a leaf out of.
Kapil Dev - 23
There are cricketers. There are legends. And then timeless icons like Kapil Dev, who with 23 five-wicket hauls in Test match cricket excelled for India like few others did and few others will. With ceaseless grit, total application and a flair for leadership, Kapil Dev Nikhanj became a hero of red-ball cricket long before giants like Jacques Henry Kallis even arrived in the sport.
BS Chandrasekhar - 16
The iconic BS Chandrasekhar, a legend of the game on whom there's a total dearth of cricketing content, was born in the pre-independent India. He claimed 16 fifers in Test match cricket. But here's a food for thought for the nation's writers and the fans who claim to love the sport endlessly as 'die hard' followers of cricket. Would they not want to free themselves from the enslaved total lack of thinking where it goes to being hardly aware on cricketers who too may have contributed to the country much like those whose faces sell brands and help the sands of commerce create quicksand for us all to sink into?
Ask Kumble or Dravid, Gavaskar or whoever you wish on the importance of legends like BS Chandrasekhar and then sit back and realize whether there's a dearth of content on the 1945-born, someone who last played a Test match for India in 1979.
Jasprit Bumrah- 16
The man who loves making batters suffer and can go to an extra length of troubling batters and bowlers with his line and length just took his 16th fifer in Test match cricket for India. His latest spellbinding figure perturbed South Africa to an extent that they couldn't even touch the 200-run mark in their first inning.
FAQs
Against which team did Jasprit Bumrah take his latest fifer?
It was against South Africa at home in Kolkata in the first of the two Tests that Jasprit Bumrah took his latest fifer, his 16th of an already successful red-ball cricket career for India.
How many fifers in Test match cricket did the legendary spinner Chandrasekhar take?
Jasprit Bumrah, after his latest fifer that put the lid on South African scoring in Kolkata, drew level with the legendary Chandrasekhar, an ace of a leg spinner of our country who took 16 in entirety.
