In the history of test cricket, there are some great bowlers who have performed brilliantly throughout their careers. They have always been in the top 10 of the ICC rankings for bowlers. Meanwhile, they have reached the top of the ICC rankings at such a young age. Test cricket is made for the fittest player who can make it all the 5 days of a test match. The bowler can bowl back-to-back overs each day if his fitness is at the top level. However, in this article, we are going to witness those bowlers who became the youngest No.1 ranked Test bowler in the world.

#5. Waqar Younis | 23y 53d | 1993

Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis has ranked at no. 1 in ICC Test rankings in the year 1993. Younis was 23 years and 53 days old when he became the youngest no. 1 ranked test bowler in the world.
With his potent in-swinging yorkers and fearsome pace, the Pakistani speedster brought a new word to the cricketing vocabulary.

Batsmen were "Waqared" with legs or stumps spread-eagled with alarming regularity throughout his Test career – no more so than at Hamilton in the 1993 New Year's Test. His figures of 4-59 and 5-22 helped his side to a thrilling 33-run victory when the home side collapsed to just 93 all out chasing a mere 127 to win. That effort moved him above Curtly Ambrose into the top spot, wherein total he spent 39 matches (367 days) as the top-ranked Test bowler between 1993 and 1995.

Read Also: Most wickets in ODIs in 2021

#4. Joey Palmer | 23y 15d | 1882

Former Australia spinner Joey Palmer has ranked at no. 1 in the ICC Test rankings in the year 1882. He was just 23 years and 15 days old when he became the youngest no. 1 ranked test bowler in the world. That makes him at number four on this list. A medium-paced spinner who was often unplayable on pitches favoring his type of bowling.

Meanwhile, he led Australia's attack in the early years of Test cricket. Having taken eleven wickets in the February 1882 Test at Sydney which Australia won by five wickets, he followed up with nine more wickets the following month at the same venue. His figures of 5-46 and 4-44 brought another home victory – this time by six wickets – and propelled him to the top of the bowling table, ahead of Fred Spofforth. His reign at the top lasted 12 matches and 933 days between 1882 and 1886 when he fractured his knee and was never the same again.

Also Read: Most wickets in T20Is in 2021

#3. Lan Botham | 22y 259d | 1978

Former England batting all-rounder Sir Lan Botham has reached the no. 1 spot at the age of just 22 years and 279 days. He reached the no. 1 rank back in the year 1978. It is doubtful if anyone has had such a spectacular start to their Test career as Ian Botham. It took him a mere 11 Tests to overtake team-mate Bob Willis and reach number one for the first time.

At that stage, he had taken 64 wickets at just 16.54 runs apiece and it was his match return of 6-101 and 5-39 against New Zealand at Lord's which moved him into the top spot. Moreover, he was also averaging more than forty with the bat too. Injuries took their toll later in his career, but he still spent 60 Tests – 845 days – as the top-ranked bowler between 1978 and 1980 – no mean feat considering he was competing with the West Indian pacemen, Dennis Lillee and Richard Hadlee at the time.

Read Also: Most overs bowled in test cricket

#2. George Lohmann | 22y 258d | 1888

Former England fast bowler George Lohmann has reached the no. 1 spot in the ICC rankings at the age of just 22 years and 258 days. Meanwhile, he reached a milestone in the year 1888. Although the game has changed unrecognizably from the early days of Test cricket, George Lohmann's career bowling figures still inspire awe now – more than a hundred years after his death. He still owns the best bowling average and strike rate of any bowler with more than fifty Test wickets and held the world record for the best innings bowling figures for more than sixty years.

His first great performance came at The Oval in 1886 when he took twelve wickets and after returning 8-35 at Sydney in early 1887 he returned the following year to take 5-17 and 4-35 to rout Australia for just 42 and 82. He lost the top spot later that year but reclaimed it after a sensational 1896-96 series in South Africa in which he took 35 wickets at just 5.80 apiece. He spent a total of six matches and 339 days on top.

#1. Kagiso Rabada | 22y 231d | 2018

South African pace battery Kagiso Rabada has topped the ICC bowlers rankings at the age of 22 years and 231 days. Rabada has reached the milestone in January 2018. Meanwhile, Rabada has now the youngest bowler to reach the milestone in Test cricket history. Kagiso Rabada first captured the limelight at ICC U/19 World Cup 2014 in the UAE when South Africa won the title. Meanwhile, he took 14 wickets in the tournament, including 6-25 against Australia, and subsequently made his Test debut at Mohali the following year.

Rabada took a match haul of 13-144 against England at Centurion in early 2016 and took ten in the match against Sri Lanka at Cape Town in January 2017. He continued to impress throughout the year, with another ten-wicket haul coming against Bangladesh at Bloemfontein in October before his Cape Town efforts finally pushed his top. No one-trick pony, he also reached the top spot in the ODI bowling table – albeit for just five days – in May and June 2017.

Also Read: ICC WTC Table after second Ashes test

N.B: The stats are accurate as of 25/12/2021.

After announcing the best men's ODI team for the year 2024 on Friday, the ICC has also announced the best Test Team of the Year 2024. 

The command of the team has been handed over to Australian captain Pat Cummins.

England has the maximum number of four players in the best Test Team of the Year. At the same time, three players from India and two from New Zealand have got places.

Only one player from Australia is in this team, whereas no player from the South Africa, which reached the final of the World Test Championship, is in this team.

Indian trio in the team

Only two of the four best batsmen of the current era have got a place in the team. These include New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Joe Root.

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli could not make it to the team.

The three Indian players who have been included in the team are opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. 

Also Read: Most Test wickets in 2024: Bumrah, Atkinson, Bashir and more

Bumrah is currently the top bowler in the ICC Test rankings, while Jadeja is the top-ranked all-rounder in Tests.

Jadeja enjoyed a sensational year with both bat and ball and scored runs and picked up wickets in 2024. 

The left-arm spinner and batter scored 527 runs in 2024 at an average of 29.27 and snared 48 wickets at an impressive average of 24.29.

While Jasprit Bumrah began 2024 with a stellar performance against England, taking 19 wickets in four matches, including a magical nine-wicket haul in Vishakhapatnam.

He extended his tally with 11 wickets in just two games against Bangladesh at home.

During the Australia tour, Bumrah emerged as the lone warrior for India with an extraordinary haul of 32 wickets and became the first bowler to average under 20 with a minimum of 200 wickets in Test cricket.

Root and Jaiswal have been shining 

Root was the highest run scorer in Test last year, accumulating 1,556 runs at an average of 55.57.

Also Read: Most Test runs in 2024: Root, Jaiswal, Duckett and more

Whereas, Jaiswal was at second place in this list. Over the calendar year, Jaiswal scored a remarkable 1,478 runs at an impressive average of 54.74.

Williamson also showed excellent form after returning from injury.

He was also one of the stand-out performers in 2024 as he accumulated 1,013 runs in 2024 at an outstanding average of 59.58, making him the sixth-highest run-scorer of the year.

However, all three teams are out of the race for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. 

Australia will face South Africa in the final at the historic Lord's ground in June.

ICC Test Team of the Year 2024

Pat Cummins (c) (Australia), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Ben Duckett (England), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Joe Root (England), Harry Brook (England), Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka), Jamie Smith (wk) (England), Ravindra Jadeja (India), Matt Henry (New Zealand), Jasprit Bumrah (India).

Australia defeated India by 6 wickets on the third day of the fifth and final Test match played in Sydney. With this victory, the Kangaroo team has now won the five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 Series 3-1. Australia has won the Trophy after 10 years. 

Bowlers performed brilliantly during the 5 test matches, in which India's Jasprit Bumrah became the highest wicket-taker in the series. Captain Pat Cummins was the best bowler for Australia throughout the series and contributed at the right time for his team.

Also Read: Most runs in BGT 2024-25

In this article, we will take a look at those bowlers who took the most wickets in BGT 2024-25.

Most Wickets in BGT 2024-25

1# Jasprit Bumrah | 32 Wickets

India's experienced fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took the most wickets in BGT 2024-25 series. He took the maximum of 32 wickets in nine innings of five Test matches at an average of 13.06 and an economy of less than three. Bumrah took 4 wickets twice and 5 wickets thrice in this series.

Bumrah also captained Team India in the first match of this series in Perth and led India to victory by 295 runs. He was chosen Player of the Series for taking the most wickets in the series. His best bowling performance was 6 wickets for 76 runs.

2# Pat Cummins | 25 Wickets

Australian captain and fast bowler Pat Cummins took 25 wickets at an average of 21.36 and an economy of 3.19 in 10 innings of five matches in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 series. Cummins took 4 wickets once and 5 wickets once in the series. His best bowling performance was 5 wickets for 57 runs.

Cummins has been one of the most consistent bowlers for Australia in the recent years and he showed why his team can count on him when it comes to taking crucial wickets to bail his team out of difficult situations. 

3# Scott Boland | 21 Wickets

Australian fast bowler Scott Boland came into the side after Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the series due to injury in between the series. He took 21 wickets in six innings of just three Test matches at an average of 13.19 and an economy of less than three. He took 4 wickets once and 5 wickets once in this series.

Boland's best bowling performance was 6 wickets for 45 runs, which he took in the second innings of the final Test. He was also the man of the match in the last test.

4# Mohammed Siraj | 20 Wickets

Indian pacer Mohammad Siraj ended up as India's second-highest wicket-taker of the series, with 20 scalps at an average of 31.15 and an economy of less than four. He also took 4 wickets once in this series. Siraj's best bowling figures read an impressive 4/98..

5# Mitchell Starc | 18 Wickets

Australian experienced fast bowler Mitchell Starc took 18 wickets in 10 innings of 5 test matches. He took these wickets at an average of 28.66    and an economy of less than four. 

Starc took 5 wicket haul once in the series. His best bowling performance was six wickets for 48 runs which came in the pink-ball Adelaide Test. He turned out to be lethal with the new ball. 

Also Read: Most Test wickets in 2024: Bumrah, Atkinson, Bashir and more

6# Nathan Lyon | 9 Wickets

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon played a very minimal role in the series. bowled just 122.4 overs throughout the five Tests, which is more of a testament to the fast bowlers than anything else.

Lyon took 9 wickets at an average of 36.88 and an economy of 2.70 in 7 innings of five matches in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 series. His best bowling performance was 3 wickets for 96 runs.

The five-match Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 between India and Australia has concluded, in which Australia won by 3-1. The likes of Travis Head and Yashasvi Jaiswal stood out for their teams while debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy also impressed throughout the 5 matches. In this article, we will take a look at those batters who scored the most runs in BGT 2024-25.

Also Read: India under Gautam Gambhir coaching

Most Runs in BGT 2024-25

1# Travis Head | 448 Runs

Australia's dreaded batsman Travis Head was the highest run-scorer in the Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He remained unbeaten once in 9 innings of 5 Test matches and scored the maximum of 448 runs at an average of 56 and strike rate of 92.56.

In this series, Head scored two centuries and one half-century. He hit 52 fours and 4 sixes in the entire series. Head's highest individual score in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 was 152 runs.

2# Yashasvi Jaiswal | 391 Runs

Indian young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal finished 2nd in the race for most runs in BGT 2024-25. It was his first series in Australia as well. Jaiswal scored 391 runs while remaining unbeaten once in 10 innings of five Test matches. He scored these runs at an average of 43.44 and strike rate of 53.41. 

Jaiswal scored one century and two half-centuries in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He hit 44 fours and 4 sixes in the entire series. Jaiswal's top score in this series was 161 runs which came in Perth Test.

3# Steve Smith | 314 Runs

Australia's middle order batsman Steve Smith was the third top scorer in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The series saw the comeback of Aussie star batter who returned with a bang, scoring 314 runs in 9 innings of five matches including 2 brilliant hundreds to his name. Smith scored runs in this series at an average of 34.88 and strike rate of 54.99.

Smithp's best score in this series was 140 runs. He hit 31 fours and four sixes. However, Smith missed completing his 10,000 runs in Test cricket in this series by just 1 run.

4# Nitish Kumar Reddy | 298 Runs

Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made his Test debut in this series and he was successful in performing brilliantly. Nitish was a part of Team India in all five Tests. In his first Test series, Nitish scored 298 runs while remaining unbeaten once in nine innings of five matches at an average of 37.25 and strike rate of 64.22.

Nitish also scored a century in this series. He hit 30 fours and 8 sixes in the series. His best score was 114 runs.

Also Read: Most Test runs in 2024: Root, Jaiswal, Duckett and more

5# KL Rahul | 276 Runs

Indian opener KL Rahul, considered a liability at the start of BGT, scored 276 runs at an average of 30.66 despite having his role in the order changed to accomodate Rohit. Rahul started the series well and scored 26 and 77 in the Perth Test. He added 201 runs with Jaiswal in the second innings of the Perth Test and guided India to a historic win.

Rahul remained unbeaten once in 10 innings of five matches. He scored two half-centuries in the series and his highest score was 84 runs which came in Brisbane Test.

6# Rishabh Pant | 255 Runs

India's wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant’s overall performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has been a mixed bag. While he has gotten starts, he has struggled to convert them into big scores. 

The third innings of the game saw Pant score the second-fastest half-century by an Indian in just 29 balls. This comes close to his own record of a half-century off 28 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022. This was his only fifty in BGT 2024-25 as he finished the series with 255 runs at an average of 28.33.

Hello and welcome everyone to another LIVE Blog of Sportz Point. This time, we will cover the much anticipated fifth test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Australia are currently leading by 2-1 in the series after winning the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). India, who are currently going through a tough time on and off the field, will look to bounce back in this test to keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with them.

Read Also | AUS vs IND 5th Test preview: Live streaming, probable xi, key players

Moreover, if India do not win this test match, they will also be eliminated from the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. With lots of things in contention, this test match surely sets up to be an iconic one. 

So, sit back and relax as Koushik Biswas brings you the LIVE updates of AUS vs IND, 5th Test, at SCG. 

The news of Jasprit Bumrah's injury has increased the concern of Indian fans. Bumrah, who performed brilliantly throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was leading the Indian team in the Sydney Test, suddenly walked out of the ground at the end of Day 2 of the fifth and final Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Also Read: AUS vs IND, 5th Test, Sydney LIVE Updates | India lead by 145 after Day 2's play | Pant and Boland starred on Day 2

Later it came to light that Jasprit Bumrah had gone to the hospital for a scan. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna came to the press conference after the stumps on the second day. He has given an update regarding Bumrah's injury.

"Jasprit Bumrah has a back spasm. He went for scans. The medical team is monitoring him and we will know when the results arrive," Prasidh did not explicitly mention that Bumrah would be out of the Test match, but remained tight-lipped about the details.

Bumrah walked out of the ground after bowling just one over

Everything was going well till the first session on the second day of the Sydney Test. Jasprit Bumrah was bowling amazingly along with his fellow bowlers. But in the second session, he walked out of the ground after bowling just one over. He was seen leaving the field with the support staff.

Bumrah was not even in the match jersey of India. He was wearing a training kit. He was seen leaving the stadium in a car. During this time also the team doctor was also seen with him.

Sources told India Today that Bumrah went to get back scans at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. The sources further added that the Indian team will get to know the results of the scans by today evening.

Also Read: India's result at SCG in Tests

Bumrah picked up Labuschagne's wicket

Bumrah had bowled 8 overs on the day before leaving the field just after play resumed following the lunch break. The India captain picked up the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne in the seventh over of the Australia innings.

"Bumrah was taken to a hospital in the Centennial Park area in Sydney. He has been taken to St Vincent's Hospital. He has a back issue and that is being scanned right now. The team will get the report by evening," sources told India Today.

Bumrah left behind Bishan Singh Bedi

Bumrah has taken the maximum 32 wickets so far in 9 innings of 5 matches in this series. He also has taken five-wicket hauls three times. This is the best performance by an Indian bowler in a series in Australia. In this matter, he left behind veteran bowler Bishan Singh Bedi. He took 31 wickets in five matches in the 1977-78 series.