Now that the league stage of the ICC World Test Championship 2021–23 is over, we look at the five best bowling performances in this tournament.
The New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel took 10 wickets at the event, which was one of many great individual performances with the ball.
We look at the five best hauls from the World Test Championship from 2021 to 2023.
Ajaz Patel- 10/119 against India in Mumbai in 2021
Patel became the third player in history to achieve a 10-for in a Test innings in December 2021. Jim Laker (10/53 against Australia) and Anil Kumble (10/84 against Pakistan) are the only other people in this club.
After India chose to bat first in the Mumbai Test, Patel was by far New Zealand’s best bowler. He showed great control and endurance against a star-studded lineup of batters.
During this dream run, his best run was when he got rid of three Indian batters in 10 balls. Shubman Gill edged one to Ross Taylor, Cheteshwar Pujara was beaten coming down the track, and Virat Kohli was out leg before to Patel.
Unfortunately for him, the other New Zealand bowlers didn’t help him much, and India ended their first innings with a strong score of 325 on a track that was starting to turn. The Indian spinners were too good for the New Zealanders, and the home team went up by 263 runs.
Patel also got some wickets in the second innings, taking 4/106, but by then, New Zealand was way out of the game. By a huge 372 runs, India won.
Sajid Khan- 8/42 v Bangladesh, Mirpur, 2021
In Mirpur, Bangladesh’s batting order was messed up by Sajid’s off-breaks. This helped Pakistan pull off a miraculous win. In the history of Test cricket, his 8/42 is the fourth-best bowling performance by a Pakistani bowler.
Several things happened that stopped the game, and at times it seemed like the weather would force a tie. But Sajid had different plans.
On the fourth day, when Pakistan ended their first innings at 300/4, the off-spinner ran through the Bangladesh batting order and took six wickets in 12 overs. At the end of the day’s play, Bangladesh’s first innings was at 76/7.
The next day, Sajid kept going strong. His eight wickets got Bangladesh out for 87. Babar Azam made them bowl again to try to get a result, and his bowlers did a good job.
Sajid was once again the best bowler. His 4/86 helped his team win by an innings and 8 runs.
Nathan Lyon: 8/64 against India, Indore, 2023
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2022/23, Lyon got off to a rough start at Nagpur (1/126) but got better with each game to become Australia’s most dangerous player in the series.
During the second Test in Delhi, his 5/67 in the first innings kept Australia in the game, but a collapse by the Australian batsmen later gave India the win. At Indore, though, Lyon was at his most aggressive and competitive, making sure that India had no way to get back into the game.
In the first innings, he got 3/35, which was enough to get India out with only 109 runs. But his 8/64 in the second dig was what finally got India to give up. Gill, Rohit Sharma, Pujara, and Ravichandran Ashwin were all out because of him.
India was bowled out for 163, and Australia beat their target of 76 with only one wicket lost.
Matt Henry vs. South Africa, July 23, 2022, Christchurch
Henry’s 9/55 for the whole match helped New Zealand beat South Africa in just their fifth Test. After beating India at home, the Proteas would have expected their fast bowlers to make the most of the fast-paced conditions in New Zealand.
But Henry’s 7/23 kept South Africa from scoring more than 95 runs in their first turn at bat.
Henry did damage by taking a lot of wickets in a short amount of time. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen were out in the 19th over because of him. Henry got rid of Kyle Verreynne, Kagiso Rabada, and Glenton Stuurman in the 47th over.
After that, all the tourists did was try to keep up with the Black Caps.
In the second innings, New Zealand won by an innings and 276 runs, thanks to Henry’s 2/32.
Keshav Maharaj- 7/32 v Bangladesh, Durban, 2022
Bangladesh’s first Test against South Africa was played in Durban. For long parts of the game, the Tigers were in the game. They helped the home team come back from a commanding 180/3 to 298/8 in the second innings.
South Africa ended up with a respectable score of 367, but Bangladesh came back with the bat as well, scoring 298 thanks to a great hundred from Mahmudul Hasan Joy.
In the second innings, their bowlers stayed on track, and after the Proteas were bowled out for 204, the tourists only needed 274 runs to win the Test. After beating New Zealand in a miraculous way at Mount Maunganui a few months ago, they might have had high hopes for Durban.
Keshav Maharaj turned out to be the one who made the difference. He didn’t do much until the last innings, since he didn’t take any wickets in Bangladesh’s first innings.
And then he ripped through their batting order, getting 7/32 in a single over and bowling Bangladesh out for just 53 runs. By 220 runs, South Africa won.
But Maharaj wasn’t done with the show just yet. In the next Test, he scored 84 and took 9/97, which helped his team win by 332 runs at Gqeberha.
