Top 5 bowlers with most five-wicket hauls in Test

As much as the game of cricket is about the simplistic, artful contest between bat and ball, we, as its ardent followers, have added different layers to it with passing time, with statistics being one of the most fundamental of them. Quantifying a player's ability with numbers is an age-old practice, but the mathematics of the game never ceases to amaze, even 140 years into Test cricket.

For a sport that is inclined more towards the batsmen, a five-wicket haul for a spinner is no mean feat, signifying much more than the fact that one person single-handedly managed to pocket half the side.

Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath, with a six-for in the second innings of the Colombo Test, helped his side achieve a whitewash over South Africa, their first series win against them since 2006. In the process, he broke into the top-5 of a list filled with illustrious stars:

Here's the complete list of players with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket:

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#5 Rangana Herath (34)

Rangana Herath's stop-start career, that started way back in 1999, finally took flight after Muttiah Muralitharan bowed out of the game. The left-arm spinner had a huge void to fill but kept delivering the goods like a relentless workaholic, picking up wickets in bucketfuls, even with his age crossing 35.

From 2000 to 2004, there was a whole chunk of four years in his career where he did not play a single Test. During that time, Muttiah Muralitharan was at the peak of his powers. A similar absence took place between 2005 and 2008, and it seemed as if Herath would be gone for good, but the way his career picked up a the turn of the decade is an engrossing tale in itself.

He's gone past 40 now but still continues to be a vital cog in the Lankan side that is struggling in Tests after the departure of several experienced stalwarts. Having already gone past Daniel Vettori as the leading wicket-taking left-arm spinner in Tests, he has very little left to achieve in the game on an individual level but added another feather to his cap by picking up his 34th five-wicket haul in Tests, entering into the top-5 of the list after Sri Lanka's whitewash over South Africa.

He plans to retire after the England series later this year.

#4 Anil Kumble (35)

Just above Herath in the list, and, well, geographically too, India's Anil Kumble took 35 five-wicket hauls, the second-most by a leg-spinner in the game's history. Kumble was never a typical leggie, but relied more on subtle variations, grip off the surface and the gift of his height.

Bowling over after over with pinpoint accuracy, Kumble was the star of several Indian victories, from the times of Mohammed Azharuddin to Rahul Dravid, to himself donning the captaincy hat in the final leg of his career.

His 619 victims in 132 Tests, spread across different grounds of the world, typified the modern-day cricketer who never shied from being a far cry from the traditional mould of spinners. His never-say-die attitude and an unwavering spirit of competitiveness made him one of the grittiest players of his generation.

#3 Richard Hadlee (36)

Sir Richard Hadlee, the first bowler to reach 400 Test wickets, had an impact few bowlers could boast about on their respective country's fortunes. Single-handedly changing courses of games with his thundering right-arm pace, Hadlee, one of the four great all-rounders of his generation, ended up with 431 wickets in just 86 Tests, leaving a legacy few have managed to come close to.

He managed to eke out pace and bounce off unresponsive surfaces and never held himself back even as he crossed 35. He cut down on speed for accuracy, and picked up 400 wickets in only 79 games, managing a strike-rate not many have still been able to achieve in the game.

He took 25 four-wicket hauls and 36 fifers in total, plucking out five-wicket hauls in every country but West Indies, across his illustrious 17-year career.

#2 Shane Warne (37)

Arguably the greatest leg-spinner of the previous era, Shane Warne, an enigma in himself, did not let controversies get the better of him, even though he lived a career as the enfant terrible of Australian cricket.

A prodigious turner of the ball who would fight fire with fire, Warne used to outfox the batsman not just with the ball, but by carefully laying out mental traps for the opposition to walk into. He would keep refreshing his ideas, finding one way or the other to get the better of the batter in front of him.

A showman par excellence, Warne seemed to love the smell of battle, becoming the first cricketer to reach the milestone of 700 wickets, even as the background was filled with headlines of drugs, bookmakers, and of course, women.

He seemed to reserve his best against England and Sri Lanka when travelling abroad, where he picked up 8 and 6 fifers respectively. It was a tremendous feat, considering that he played alongside other wicket-taking machines like Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee.

#1 Muttiah Muralitharan (67)

An unassuming character who let the ball do the talking (and more), Muttiah Muralitharan, perhaps one of the most talented cricketers who emerged out of the 1990s, is a story of personal triumph over obstacles, as much as it is of one bowler changing the cricketing fortunes of an entire nation single-handedly.

Muralitharan could turn a cricket ball on any surface possible, and did it tirelessly for years, bamboozling the best of the lot with his variations in the air and deviation off the surface.

In an 18-year-old career that crisscrossed with few of the greatest batsmen of the game, Muralitharan managed to pick up 800 Test wickets, an astronomical feat that continues to be the ultimate benchmark for international bowlers.

Muralitharan picked up an astonishing 67 five-wicket hauls, highlighting how his solitary efforts used to be enough to bundle out the other side, even with less support from his teammates.