Top 5 bowling spells by Stuart Broad in Tests

English fast bowler, Stuart Broad claimed his 400th Test wicket in the 'pink ball' Test against New Zealand. He became just the second Englishman to reach this landmark, first being his fellow opening bowler James Anderson.

Broad achieved this feat in 115th Test match of his career. He reached this milestone by dismissing New Zealand opener Tom Latham on day one of the day-night Test at Eden Park on Thursday.

Having made his Test debut on December 9, 2007, Broad has come a long way and has established himself as one of the finest fast bowlers of the world. Standing at an imposing 6 foot 5 inches, Broad relies on his pace, bounce, and movement to take wickets.

The 31-year old bowler had severe injury issues and had a struggling last 14 months. But his dedication towards the sport has made him stand where he is today. Not just with the ball, Broad has also delivered with the bat. He has a century to his name at The Lord's, something that his father, now a match referee, Chris Broad could not achieve.

Celebrating his 400 wickets in Tests, let's look at his best Test bowling figures:

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#5 6/25 vs India, Old Trafford 2014

It was one of the best spells of Broad in his career. The fast bowler destroyed the batting line-up of India in the worst possible manner. To begin the match, Broad and Anderson exposed the Indian top order through their majestic swing bowling. They picked up two wickets apiece with the new ball and India was left helpless with a score of 8-4.

For India, the then captain, MS Dhoni remained the highest scorer in the first innings for India. The skipper contributed 71 before India was bundled out for a mere 152.

England went on to win the match by an innings and 54 runs, thanks to a brilliant bowling display by Stuart Broad.

#4 6/17 v South Africa, Wanderers 2016

In the third Test during the England tour of South Africa in 2016, Broad delivered a match-winning spell. He bowled an astonishing spell to help England defeat the Proteas in their own forte.

The match was easily heading towards a draw as both teams had batted quite well in their respective first innings. But Broad had some different plans for the game. When South Africa came in for their second innings, Broad shocked their batsmen.

In his opening 10-over spell, he took 5-14, including 5-1 in 31 balls at one stage. He took the prize wickets of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. He was also awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding bowling display.

#3 7/72 v West Indies, Lord's 2012

Stuart Broad had bowled an outstanding spell in the first Test against West Indies in 2012. England had won the toss and had asked the Caribbean to bat first. Broad removed opener, Adrian Barath before Chanderpaul and Samuels frustrated the home side with a stand of 81.

Broad was brought back into the attack and this time he broke the West Indies batting backbone. He took 7-for before the visitors were all out for 243 runs only.

Broad did not settle here, as he claimed 4 wickets in the second innings as well. He ended up taking 11 wickets and won the Man of the Match. England managed to win the Test very easily by 5 wickets.

#2 7/44 v New Zealand, Lord's 2013

This Test at the Lord's was really a special one, both for England and for Broad himself. Both the teams battled very hard to win the contest. England in their first innings could manage only 232 runs. The Black-caps also could not manage to score big and were bundled out for just 207.

In their second innings as well, England could not show any resistance and were all-out for 213, setting a target of 239 for the visitors.

But then Broad lit up Lord's with a destructive new-ball spell. He sent 7 Kiwi batsmen back to the pavilion. England won the Test match quite comprehensively by a margin of 170 runs. Broad was again given the Player of the Match award.

#1 8/15 v Australia, Trent Bridge 2015

Stuart Broad delivered a dream spell of his career as he shocked very Austrailian player with his class bowling. He dismissed the Aussie opener, Chris Rogers on the second ball of the match. In the same over, he got rid of the current Aussie skipper, Steve Smith of an absolute beauty.

Broad ended the innings with 8-15 that he captured in 9.3 mesmeric overs. Australia were bowled out for a score of just 60. It was the quickest first innings in terms of balls faced in the history of Test cricket and Australia's lowest total against England since 1888.

Broad ripped through the Australian batting line-up to decisively swing the match in England's favor. They went on to win the Test match very easily by an innings and 78 runs. This remains Broad's best Test figures to date.