5 bowlers with the most 10-wicket hauls in Test cricket

In the 145-year history of Test match cricket, there have been several bowlers who have enthralled the world with the red cherry in their hand. The four-pronged pace quartet of the West Indies sent shivers down the spines of batsmen with their menacing pace and bounce. Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Michael Holding were absolute nightmares for any batsmen and they played a pivotal role in the West Indies becoming a dominant force in 1970s and early 1980s.

The 1990s saw the emergence of many more remarkable bowling talents. If Glenn McGrath and Wasim Akram troubled the batsmen with their accuracy, then Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar stunned batsmen with their brutal pace. And the likes of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan spun a web around the batsmen and made the ball dance to their tunes.

In this article, we take a look at five bowlers with the most 10-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

#5 Anil Kumble (India)

Kumble is the third highest wicket taker in Test cricket history.

At No. 5 comes the greatest bowler that India has produced in Test cricket, Anil Kumble. Kumble is the third highest wicket-taker in Tests with 619 wickets to his name. In his stellar career spanning 18 years, Kumble took eight 10-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

‘Jumbo’ will forever be remembered for completing a clean sweep by taking all 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan at Delhi. He is only the second bowler to do so, after Jim Laker of England.

Kumble's ability to get bowl tight lines coupled with his ability to extract extra bounce from the wicket made him a genuine match winner for the Indian team.

RECORD: Matches: 132; Wickets: 619; Average: 29.65; 5W: 35; 10W: 8

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#4 Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

Rangana Herath

Rangana Herath is the only left-arm bowler to figure in the list. Herath played 93 matches for Sri Lanka and picked up 433 wickets in his career, at an average of 28.08. He is the second highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka till date, and picked up nine 10-wicket hauls in his career.

Herath is also the second Sri Lankan bowler to take nine wickets in an innings, after the iconic Muttiah Muralitharan. He took 9/127 against Pakistan, enabling the islanders to crush their opponents by 105 runs.

Herath is the most successful left-arm spinner the history of Test match cricket and the second fastest spinner to 400 Test wickets after the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan

RECORD: Matches: 93; Wickets: 433; Average: 28.08; 5W: 34; 10W: 9

#3 Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand)

Sir Richard Hadlee

At No. 3 comes one of the greatest all-rounders that Test cricket has ever produced, Sir Richard Hadlee. Hadlee played 86 Test matches for New Zealand between 1973 and 1990, and picked up 431 wickets at an average of 22.30, including nine 10-wicket hauls.

Hadlee is the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in Test cricket. He will forever be remembered for the 9/52 that he took against the mighty Australians, allowing New Zealand to crush their opponents by an innings and 41 runs.

When he retired from Test Match cricket, Hadlee was the highest wicket-taker in Tests. His mark was later overtaken by Kapil Dev.

RECORD: Matches: 86; Wickets: 431; Average: 22.30; 5W: 36; 10W: 9

#2 Shane Warne (Australia)

Shane Warne

If leg spin bowling is an art, then Shane Warne will go down as its greatest exponent. His ability to get the ball to drift in the air and extract vicious turn off the surface made him an absolute nightmare for batsmen.

The legendary leg-spinner played 145 Tests for Australia, and picked up a colossal 708 wickets, including ten 10-wicket hauls. Warne’s battles with several great legends, including the likes of Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, will be etched in cricketing folklore forever.

Warne's ball to England's Mike Gatting, where he beat the batsman with drift and vicious turn off the surface, is widely hailed as the 'Ball of the Century.'

RECORD: Matches: 145; Wickets: 708; Average: 25.42; 5W: 37; 10W: 10

#1 Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)

Muttiah Muralitharan

When someone talks of bowling records, this man’s name has to come up. Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, with a colossal 800 wickets to his name.

To put the numbers generated by Muralitharan into perspective, he picked up 22 10-wicket hauls in Test cricket, which is more than twice the amount of the second man in the list (Warne is second with 10).

Muralitharan is also the only bowler to pick up more than 50 five-wicket hauls in Test match cricket. His impeccable line and length coupled with his ability to make the ball move both ways made him a match winner for Sri Lanka.

RECORD: Matches: 132; Wickets: 800; Average: 22.73; 5W: 67; 10W: 22

Note: All stats are updated till the 1st of November 2019.