Top 5 Fastest Indian Bowlers to take 150 Test wickets
India v England 2024: Top five Indian players for Test series against England ft. Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin
Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Stokes to register his 150th Test wicket for India
The five-match Test series against the England cricket team might not be going as per the plan for the Indian cricket team as they lost the first Test match by 28 runs. Though the hosts won the second Test match by a massive 106 runs, the series now stands at 1-1 with three matches remaining.
The Indian team is yet to take a lead in the series, their bowlers have definitely managed to leave an impact. The pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah etched his name in the record books in golden letters during the second Test match at the Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
It was a spectacular performance by the Mumbai Indians stalwart as he picked up six and three wickets respectively across two innings. It was also a record-breaking event for Bumrah as he completed 150 Test wickets for India.
Let’s walk through five players who have taken the fewest balls to pick 150 Test wickets for the Indian cricket team.
#5 Ravichandran Ashwin: 8380 balls
One of the finest spinners to ever play for the Indian cricket team, Ravichandran Ashwin holds the fifth place in the list.
It was in 2015 that Ashwin achieved this feat and it took him a total of 8380 balls to do so. In terms of games played, he is the fastest Indian to pick up 150 wickets as he did that in only 29 matches.
The spin wizard has played a whopping 96 matches so far picking massive 499 wickets at an economy rate of 2.78 and an average of 23.92. He also holds the title of being the first and the only Indian bowler so far to pick 150 wickets in the ICC World Test Championship.
#4 Kapil Dev: 8378 balls
Kapil Dev took the world by storm using his fast bowling skills
It might come as a surprise but the player to take up the fourth slot in the list is none other than the World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev. In today’s time, the former Indian skipper is mostly remembered for his exceptional leadership skills that took India to greater heights and his remarkable batting talent that bailed out the team from many tough situations.
However, one should not forget that Kapil Dev was as good with the ball as he was within any department. The now 65-year-old ended his cricket career that spanned over a decade with 434 Test wickets under his belt in just 131 matches.
The right-arm medium bowler maintained an economy rate of 2.78 and an average of 29.6. Speaking of his 150th Test wicket, he achieved that on the 8378th ball.
#3 Mohammed Shami: 7755 balls
Mohammad Shami has been nothing less than a blessing for the Indian cricket team in all three formats be it Test, ODIs or the T20 Internationals, especially in the last few years.
Apart from shining in the Test format, the experienced fast bowler proved to be a valuable asset for India in the latter half of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup finishing as the highest wicket-taker despite sitting on the bench in the first four matches of the tournament.
With 229 wickets in 64 Test matches at an economy rate of 3.30 and an average of 27.7, the bowler has successfully established himself as one of the top wicket-takers in the modern Test cricket era. It was in September 2019 during the Test match against West Indies that Shami dismissed Rahkeem Cornwall to record his 150th Test wicket.
#2 Umesh Yadav: 7661 balls
Umesh Yadav is second on this elite list of Indian bowlers
Umesh Yadav might have struggled to find a place in the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game owing to the birth of new talent in recent times. However, there is no denying that he once was one of the top-performing seamers for the Men in Blue, especially in the longest format of the game.
The testament to the same is his presence in the list of fastest Indian bowlers to take 150 Test wickets in terms of number of balls. Umesh had to ball only 7661 balls in whites to achieve the feat.
Notably, since his debut in the Test format in 2011, the 36-year-old has represented the national team in 57 games, picking 170 wickets at an economy rate of 3.51 and an average of 30.9.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah: 6781 balls
Jasprit Bumrah has played 33 Test matches for India and has bowled at an average of 20.8 and an economy rate of 2.71 bagging a total of 155 wickets. From being an understudy to Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami, Bumrah has transformed himself into a thinking bowler who likes to lead the bowling attack from the front.
During the second Test match between India and England, he became the fastest Indian bowler to take 150 Test wickets by achieving the milestone in only 6781 balls. On Day 2 of the Visakhapatnam Test, the wily fast bowler had already dismissed Joe Root, Ollie Pope, and Jonny Bairstow before he named opposition captain Ben Stokes as his 150th wicket.
While the yorker bowled against Pope will be remembered for years to come, the castling of Stokes will be a memory deeply cherished by Bumrah as the English skipper’s reaction after the ball crashed onto the stumps quickly became a sensation on social media.
The spell of 6/45 bowled by Bumrah was the best figures recorded by an Indian seamer in a home test in the 21st century and will be replayed in bowling classes for years to come.
Kapil Dev took the world by storm using his fast bowling skills
It might come as a surprise but the player to take up the fourth slot in the list is none other than the World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev. In today’s time, the former Indian skipper is mostly remembered for his exceptional leadership skills that took India to greater heights and his remarkable batting talent that bailed out the team from many tough situations.
However, one should not forget that Kapil Dev was as good with the ball as he was within any department. The now 65-year-old ended his cricket career that spanned over a decade with 434 Test wickets under his belt in just 131 matches.
The right-arm medium bowler maintained an economy rate of 2.78 and an average of 29.6. Speaking of his 150th Test wicket, he achieved that on the 8378th ball.
#3 Mohammed Shami: 7755 balls
Mohammad Shami has been nothing less than a blessing for the Indian cricket team in all three formats be it Test, ODIs or the T20 Internationals, especially in the last few years.
Apart from shining in the Test format, the experienced fast bowler proved to be a valuable asset for India in the latter half of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup finishing as the highest wicket-taker despite sitting on the bench in the first four matches of the tournament.
With 229 wickets in 64 Test matches at an economy rate of 3.30 and an average of 27.7, the bowler has successfully established himself as one of the top wicket-takers in the modern Test cricket era. It was in September 2019 during the Test match against West Indies that Shami dismissed Rahkeem Cornwall to record his 150th Test wicket.
#2 Umesh Yadav: 7661 balls
Umesh Yadav is second on this elite list of Indian bowlers
Umesh Yadav might have struggled to find a place in the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game owing to the birth of new talent in recent times. However, there is no denying that he once was one of the top-performing seamers for the Men in Blue, especially in the longest format of the game.
The testament to the same is his presence in the list of fastest Indian bowlers to take 150 Test wickets in terms of number of balls. Umesh had to ball only 7661 balls in whites to achieve the feat.
Notably, since his debut in the Test format in 2011, the 36-year-old has represented the national team in 57 games, picking 170 wickets at an economy rate of 3.51 and an average of 30.9.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah: 6781 balls
Jasprit Bumrah has played 33 Test matches for India and has bowled at an average of 20.8 and an economy rate of 2.71 bagging a total of 155 wickets. From being an understudy to Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami, Bumrah has transformed himself into a thinking bowler who likes to lead the bowling attack from the front.
During the second Test match between India and England, he became the fastest Indian bowler to take 150 Test wickets by achieving the milestone in only 6781 balls. On Day 2 of the Visakhapatnam Test, the wily fast bowler had already dismissed Joe Root, Ollie Pope, and Jonny Bairstow before he named opposition captain Ben Stokes as his 150th wicket.
While the yorker bowled against Pope will be remembered for years to come, the castling of Stokes will be a memory deeply cherished by Bumrah as the English skipper’s reaction after the ball crashed onto the stumps quickly became a sensation on social media.
The spell of 6/45 bowled by Bumrah was the best figures recorded by an Indian seamer in a home test in the 21st century and will be replayed in bowling classes for years to come.