Indian cricket history has witnessed many pace bowlers who posed a threat to the opposition with their skill and guile. Pacers has played a role in the rise of the sport’s popularity. Some bowlers became match winners, the go-to player for captains whenever the team needed wickets. Let's take a look at those pace bowlers who have the most international wickets for India.

Also Read: Most international runs in Cricket history

Most International Wickets for India (Pacers)

1. Kapil Dev | 687 Wickets

The World Cup-winning skipper, Kapil Dev has the most International wickets for India (pacer). He took a total of 687 wickets in 356 international appearances. These scalps have come at an average of 28.83, with best bowling figures of 9/83. Kapil Dev has a total of 20 four-wicket hauls, 24 fifers, and two ten-wicket hauls in the international arena. He also scored over 9,000 international runs with nine centuries.

2. Zaheer Khan | 597 Wickets

Zaheer Khan was the backbone of the 2000s Indian pace and has taken a total of 597 wickets at an average of 31.48. He has best bowling figures of 7/83. Zaheer has 23 four-fers, 12 five-wicket hauls, and a ten-wicket haul in international cricket. The 2011 World Cup winner had the ability to swing the ball both ways and was quite deadly in the death overs.

3. Javagal Srinath | 551 Wickets

Javagal Srinath, who is fondly known as Mysore Express is considered among India's finest fast bowlers and has taken 551 international wickets for Team India at an average of 29.11. His best bowling figures are 8/86. He has 15 four-wicket hauls, 13 five-wicket hauls, and a ten-wicket haul in international cricket. 

Also Read: The Greatest T20I Records That Will Stand the Test of Time

4. Mohammed Shami | 448 Wickets

Since making his debut in 2013, Mohammed Shami has made a total of 188 international appearances for India. He has been one of India’s finest pacers in the current era and has an amazing record across formats. Shami has taken a total of 448 wickets at an average of 26.06. His best bowling figures are 7/57. Shami has 22 four-wicket hauls and 11 five-wicket hauls for India. 

5. Ishant Sharma | 434 Wickets

Ishant Sharma played for India between 2007 and 2021 and he was part of the 2013 Champions Trophy-winning team. Ishant took 434 wickets in 199 international matches, which included 105 tests, and took 11 fifers, 16 four-wicket hauls, and one ten-wicket match haul. His best bowling figures are 7/74. 

6. Jasprit Bumrah | 401 Wickets 

Jasprit Bumrah is the sixth Indian pacer who has the most international wickets. Bumrah is one of India’s most unique pacers who is known very well for his unorthodox action, incredible pace and the ability to take wickets under pressure in every format of the game. in 196* matches, Bumrah has taken 401 wickets at an average of 21.01, with the best bowling figures of 6/19. He has 12 five-wicket hauls and 10 four-wicket hauls in his international career.

Pink Ball Test, a five-day match contested under lights like a One Day International, was first held in November 2015 after a lot of trials in First-Class cricket across the globe. Day-Night Test was introduced to add more to the longer format as white-ball especially the T20s has taken over the game with crowds preferring the shorter format.

Also Read: Most Runs for India in Pink Ball Test

India are set to play their second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide. After winning the Perth Test match by a massive margin of 295 runs, India will face Australia against the pink ball, under lights. So before the start of the series, let's take a look at the Indian bowlers who took the most wickets in the Pink Ball Test. 

1# Ravichandran Ashwin | 18 Wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest wicket taker for India in the pink ball test. He appeared in all 4 of India's matches, taking 18 wickets at an average of 13.83. In his Test career, he played 105 matches, in which he took 536 wickets at an average of 23.95. Meanwhile, he has taken 5 wickets in 37 innings. Ashwin did not play in the first Test of the current series.

2# Axar Patel | 14 Wickets

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has played only 2 matches with the pink ball, taking 14 wickets with a strong average of 9.14. In 2021, he took a total of 11 wickets in the day-night test played against England in Ahmedabad. He took 5 wickets in both the innings. In his Test career so far, Axar has taken 55 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 19.34.

3# Umesh Yadav | 11 Wickets

Indian fast bowler Umesh Yadav has also had a strong performance in the day-night test. The Indian fast bowler has taken 11 wickets in 2 matches with an excellent average of 15.54. In his Test career, Umesh has played 57 matches, in which he has taken 170 wickets at an average of 30.95. He is currently out of the Indian team. Umesh played his last Test in 2023.

4# Jasprit Bumrah | 10 Wickets

Jasprit Bumrah, who led the Indian team on the first test, has taken 10 wickets in the pink ball test. Bumrah has taken 10 wickets in 3 day-night tests. He took 5 wicket haul against Sri Lanka. Bumrah is currently on Australia tour. He took a total of 8 wickets in the first Perth Test of the series.

5# Ishant Sharma | 10 Wickets

Ishant Sharma has also taken 10 wickets each in the Pink Ball Test. Ishant took 10 wickets in 2 tests. He took a total of 9 wickets in the match against Bangladesh. He is currently out of the Indian team. Ishant played his last Test in 2021.

India created history in the first Test of the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy by achieving their largest-ever win in Australia. At Perth's Optus Stadium, a venue where the Australian team had never lost before, India registered a stunning victory. Led by Jasprit Bumrah’s Player of the Match (POTM) worthy 8/72 across the two innings, India defeated Australia by 295 runs, their biggest every victory by runs in the country (if innings wins not considered). 

Also Read: Highest catches dropped percentages since 2011 (Min 100 chances) | Virat tops the list among batters

After achieving the POTM Award in Perth, Jasprit Bumrah became the fifth Indian captain who won POTM awards in Australia in Tests. Here's the other captain who achieved this feat on Australian soil.

1. Kapil Dev | Adelaide, 1985

The Haryana Hurricane Kapil Dev earned the POTM award following his spell of 8 for 106 in the first innings of the 1985 Adelaide Test, which set the stage for India to secure a draw against the home team. He was the first Indian captain who won POTM awards in Australia in Tests.

2. Sachin Tendulkar | Melbourne, 1999

In Melbourne in December 1999, when the weather was damp and batting a struggle, Australia rallied to 405 and India crumbled around Tendulkar. He scored his third ton on Australian soil since his twin shows in the 1991-92 series. His 116 off 191 balls (nine fours, one six) saw a follow-on-saving 43-run partnership with Anil Kumble (28 not out) and India ended on 238. The 167-run lead proved to be decisive as India lost the game by 180 runs, with Tendulkar’s POTM award coming as the visiting side’s consolation.

3. Sourav Ganguly | Brisbane, 2003

At the Gabba, India slipped from 61 for 0 to 62 for 3, in response to Australia's 323. In conditions that offered the pace and bounce that are the hallmark of Australian venues, Ganguly displayed remarkable judgement in his handling of the short delivery, and scored his first Test hundred in Australia.

Ganguly's 146-run stand with VVS Laxman (75) for the 5th wicket was notched up in 206 balls and his 144-run knock was studded with 18 hits to the fence. Such was the class of Ganguly's knock that it drew applause even from some of the Aussie players. This was India's first drawn series in Australia since 1981.

4. Ajinkya Rahane | Melbourne, 2021

After India were hammered in the first match in Adelaide Test series in 2021, skipper Kohli returned home for personal reasons and the responsibility fell on Rahane. Under Rahane's captaincy, India won the game by eight wickets and level the series 1-1. During this Rahane slammed his 12th Test hundred (112 off 223 balls). Rahane later led India to win the fourth and final Test in Brisbane to give his side a 2-1 series victory.

Also Read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Jasprit Bumrah breaks record with five-wicket haul in first test

5. Jasprit Bumrah | Perth, 2024

India played superb cricket over the span of the three and a half days in Perth, and defeated Australia by 295 runs, their biggest every victory by runs in the country (if innings wins not considered). 

Led by Jasprit Bumrah’s Player of the Match worthy 8/72 across the two innings at the Optus Stadium in Perth, India were rampant in the Test match right after their disappointing first innings on Day 1 when they folded for 150. They blew away Australia for just 104 in their first innings, and took a 46 runs lead. India scored 487/6d in the second innings and gave Australia a target of 534. The Australian top order collapsed once again in the second innings and the hosts could have repeated the first innings performance.

The second day of the Perth Test match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia has ended. India now has a lead of 218 runs due to the record partnership of 172 runs by the Indian team's openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Australia all out on 104

Team India's first innings was limited to a score of only 150 in this match, after which, due to the excellent performance of the bowlers, Australia managed to score only 104 runs in its first innings, giving the Indian team a lead of 46 runs. At the start of the day's play on Saturday, Australia had 7 wickets for 67 runs. The team had lost the last 3 wickets in scoring 37 runs. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey could only add 2 runs to his score on the first day and made a total of 21 runs, while Nathan Lyon contributed 5 runs. Mitchell Starc scored the highest score of 26 runs.

By the end of the second day's play, Team India had scored 172 runs without any loss in their second innings, in which they had also achieved a lead of 218 runs. 

Strong performance by Indian bowlers

Indian bowlers have performed brilliantly and brought the team into the competition. Jasprit Bumrah has taken 5 wickets while playing captaincy innings. Harshit Rana has got 3 wickets and Mohammad Siraj has got 2 wickets.

Jaiswal and Rahul put India in driver's seat

After a frenetic first day that saw 17 wickets tumble, Day 2 showcased a different rhythm as Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul produced a gritty, old-school batting display to grind down Australia. Jaiswal showcased his class with an unbeaten 90 and KL Rahul displayed great composure with his 62* as India built a solid 218-run lead over Australia to take control of the game at stumps on Day 2.  Jaiswal faced 193 balls while Rahul fended off 153. Australia tried hard to break the stand but failed miserably.

 Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Day 2 Report

• Australia: 104 all out in 51.2 overs (Mitchell Starc 26, Alex Carey 21; Jasprit Bumrah 5/30)
• India: 172/0 in 57 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 90 not out, KL Rahul 62 not out)

Australia 104; India 172/0 at stumps

Jasprit Bumrah picked up his 11th five-wicket haul in test cricket in the first inning of the Perth Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 on Saturday. With his five-wicket haul, Bumrah, who had to step in as a captain for the first test due to the unavailability of Rohit Sharma, became the first captain since Anil Kumble in 2007 to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

Bumrah nicked off Alex Carey with his first ball of the second day and picked up his 11th Test five-wicket haul, taking his test record in away conditions to another level. The Indian pacer now has taken 131 test wickets in just 28 test matches in away conditions at an outstanding average of 20.51. Nine of his 11 five-wicket hauls now have come in away conditions.

The 30-year-old fast bowler massacred the Australian batting line-up with his fiery on Day 1. In his first spell of the test match, Bumrah removed the debutant Nathan McSweeney. Then, he dismissed Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in back-to-back deliveries to bring back India in the match. Later in the evening, he got rid of the Australian captain Pat Cummins for his fourth wicket.

Bumrah did not waste any time in picking his second test five-wicket haul as he got the better of Alex Carey with his first ball of the Day 2.

Make that FIVE!

There's the first five-wicket haul of the series #MilestoneMoment #AUSvIND @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/t4KIdyMTLI

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 23, 2024

Jasprit Bumrah touches Kapil Dev's feat

With his five-wicket haul, Bumrah now has become only the second fast-bowling Indian captain to take a test five-wicket haul in Australia after Kapil Dev in 1985. Kapil Dev in the 1985-86 series at  Adelaide picked up 8/106 in the first inning to become the first Indian fast-bowler captain to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

After Dev, Anil Kumble achieved the feat of taking a five-wicket haul as an Indian captain in the 2007-08 series. Kumble picked up 5/84 in the first test of the series at Melbourne and became the third Indian captain to achieve the feat. It was the late great Bishan Singh Bedi, who was the first-ever Indian captain to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

Visiting Test captains to take a five-wicket haul in Australia

The first day of the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia has ended. In this match being played at Optus Stadium in Perth, the power of fast bowlers has been seen so far, in which a total of 17 wickets fell. 

Jasprit Bumrah, who was captaining the Indian team in this Test, had decided to bat first after winning the toss, in which Team India's first innings was reduced to just 150. For the Indian team, Nitish Reddy scored 41 runs while Rishabh Pant scored 37 runs. While bowling for Australia, Josh Hazlewood took 4 wickets. 

After this, Team India's bowlers also performed brilliantly and by the end of the day's play, the Australian team had reduced 7 wickets to the score of 67, in which they are still 83 runs behind India's first-inning score. On behalf of the Indian team, till now captain Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj 2, and Harshit Rana have taken 1 wicket.

The pitch offered consistent movement and bounce throughout the day, testing the mettle of batters from both sides. While India will rue their inability to post a substantial first-innings total, their bowlers’ spirited performance has given them a fighting chance in what is shaping up to be a low-scoring thriller.

Bowlers dominate on the first day of Perth Test

The bowlers of both the teams together made a big record in their name at the Optus Stadium in Perth. A total of 17 batsmen were out on the first day. This is the record for the highest number of wickets falling on the first day of a Test match in Australia after 1952.

The second day of the game is going to be very important for both the teams. The Indian team will be eyeing to end Australia's innings as soon as possible. At the same time, Australia would like to add as many runs as possible to its score.

India need to secure a 4-0 sweep

This series holds enormous significance for India, who must secure a 4-0 sweep to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Having suffered a crushing defeat at home to New Zealand earlier this year, the Indian team now has a golden opportunity to regain momentum and stake their claim among the world’s elite.

 Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Day 1 Report

• India: 150 all out in 49.4 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 41, Rishabh Pant 37; Josh Hazlewood 4/29).
• Australia: 67/7 in 27 overs (Alex Carey 19 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 4/17).

India 150; Australia 67/7 at stumps