5 Bowlers who shone for India in Tests this year

In a year that has seen the Indian cricket team reach new heights in the Test cricket circuit, no area has seen more progress than the Indian bowling attack.

While the Indian batting line up has always won matches for the team in the past, it was the bowlers, the pacers in particular, who took the mantle from the batters and took the whole cricket world by storm.

With two senior spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and a bunch of world-class fast bowlers, the Indian bowling attack is as good as any other bowling attack in the history of Test cricket.

Be it in India, West Indies or Australia, each of them has single-handedly won matches for the National Team at one point or the other over the past 12 months.

Here are the 5 best Indian Bowlers in Test Cricket in 2019

Honourable Mentions: - Ravindra Jadeja

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#5 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin became the Joint fastest to 250 Test Wickets at Home.

There was a time when Ravichandran Ashwin was easily the best spinner in Test Cricket in any condition, and while his form has taken a dip in recent times and he hasn't been a regular member of the playing XI in overseas fixtures, he is still a force to be reckoned with in home conditions.

Be it against South Africa or Bangladesh, Ashwin rattled all the players with his bowling. As a matter of fact, he was the highest wicket-taker in the all-important test series against the Proteas, finishing with 15 wickets in 3 matches.

He also became the joint-fastest to 250 wickets at home along with the Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan in the same period.

Matches: - 5 Wickets: - 20 Average: - 24.15

Strike Rate: - 52.00 Economy: - 2.79 BBI: - 7/145

#4 Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah was exceptional in West Indies but missed the entire home season due to injury.

In just two years, Jasprit Bumrah has gone from being a limited-overs only player to being the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. With unbelievable performances in South Africa and Australia in 2018, Bumrah was expected to be the anchor of the bowling attack during the home season in 2019.

However, a stress fracture following the tour to West Indies ruled him out of the series against South Africa and Bangladesh and reduced his 2019 to only 3 test matches. Even in those 3 matches, Bumrah was at his lethal best.

He registered two 5-wickets haul's in the two test match series against West Indies and was instrumental in the destruction of the West Indian batting line up.

Matches: - 3 Wickets: - 14 Average: - 13.14

Strike Rate: - 30.93 Economy: - 2.55 BBI: - 6/27

#3 Umesh Yadav

Despite featuring in fewer matches, Umesh had the best strike rate among Indian bowlers.

Based on his record over the past 12 months, it won't be wrong to call Umesh Yadav the most improved cricketer of the year. After years of being the backup pacer and being in and out of the squad in all formats, Yadav finally came up with some surprisingly good performances against South Africa and Bangladesh at home.

He not only bowled with more pace but also chipped in wickets more frequently than any other Indian bowler. Between the second Test against South Africa to the historic Day-Night Test, the Vidharbha pacer scalped a total of 23 victims in only 4 test matches, which includes a stunning 5-wicket haul in the latter.

Matches: - 4 Wickets: - 23 Average: - 13.65

Strike Rate: - 23.13 Economy: - 3.54 BBI: - 5/53

#2 Mohammed Shami

Shami solidified his place in India's first-choice playing XI in Test Cricket

Much like Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami's career was hanging in the balance at the start of the year. While he was doing well in Test cricket, he was far away from the player who made a mark upon his debut with sheer pace and was struggling to make it to the playing XI.

In just 12 months, Shami has not only made a successful return to the ODI team, but he has also been phenomenal in the longest format as well. He is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the world, and highest for India, in 2019.

His fierce spells against South Africa and West Indies left the opposition into tatters and helped India register massive wins against the opposition.

Matches: - 8 Wickets: - 33 Average: - 16.67

Strike Rate: - 35.33 Economy: - 2.83 BBI: - 5/35

#1 Ishant Sharma

The senior pacer had a performance resurrection in 2019.

Ishant Sharma has been a part of the Indian cricket team for 12 years now, yet he hasn't been more valuable and important for the team than he was in the last 12 months. With Jasprit Bumrah missing the entirety of the home season, the onus of leading the Indian bowling attack fell on the senior pacer's shoulders.

He didn't disappoint, not even one bit. In fact, Ishant kind of had a performance resurrection in 2019 as he bowled with more pace and terrorized batsmen with his deliveries. With two 5-wicket haul's, one each against West Indies and Bangladesh, and a plethora of other dismissals, Ishant once again solidified his spot as the leader of the Indian pace attack in 2019.

Matches: - 6 Wickets: - 25 Average: - 15.56

Strike Rate: - 32.56 Economy: - 2.87 BBI: - 5/22