Watch Out for the Top 5 Iconic Indian Bowling Performances on English Soil

Once a legend said, “Pitch ko nikalo game se… bhaad me gaya pitch… 10 wickets nikalne hai… chahe Mumbai ho, Manchester ho, Auckland ho ya Johannesburg… jidhar bhi,” and it was none other than Ravi Shastri, who created this mentality. The captain-coach duo of Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli is still remembered by the Indian cricket fans when it comes to the Test format.

While the batters surely play a crucial role in the Test matches, it is the bowlers who are likely to help the team win matches. This rule was understood well by the Shastri and Kohli duo, as they kept proper bowlers in the line-up. This helped the Indian team to dominate in the longer formats of the game, not only in home tests but also away.

When Virat Kohli was the captain of the team, he had a full-fledged pace bowling line-up, comprising stars like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and many more. This played a crucial role in taking 20 wickets in each Test match. As the Indian team prepares for its upcoming tour against England, let’s take a look at some of the best spells by Indian bowlers in England.

Jasprit Bumrah — 5/64

The India tour of England 2021-22 was one of the finest tours of the Indian team, where the bowlers showcased their dominance on the English pitches. The first Test match was being played at Nottingham, and England were batting first. With the aggressive bowling performances, the Indian team restricted them to 183. In response to the same, India came up with the score of 278, as KL Rahul and Jadeja smashed 50s.

The third innings of the match was Bumrah’s dominance over the English batsmen, as he bowled an impressive spell, taking 5 wickets and conceding just 64 runs in 19 overs. His first wicket came in the form of Zak Crawley, who was caught behind by Rishabh Pant, scoring just 6 runs off 7 balls.

Following that, Joe Root and Dom Sibley started to form a partnership, which was eventually broken down by Bumrah. He dismissed Sibley for 28 runs off 133 balls, giving the breakthrough. Although the other bowlers were able to take wickets, the team surely wanted to dismiss Joe Root. This job was also done by Bumrah in the 81st over, taking the wicket of Joe Root after he scored 109.

To wrap up the innings quickly, he dismissed Sam Curran and Stuart Broad in quick succession, which helped India restrict England at the score of 303. The target was just 209, but the match resulted in a draw, as India was just able to score 52 runs for the loss of one wicket by the end of all match days.

Mohammed Siraj — 4/32

The Lord’s win secured by the Indian team in the 2021-22 tour can never be forgotten, as it comes under the greatest wins of all time. Captain Kohli’s words to the Indian team, when he said, “For 60 overs, they should feel hell out there,” made the bowlers unleash their inner beast, and this was also the time when Mohammed Siraj made his name in overseas matches.

Batting first, India scored 364 runs in the first innings, and the English team responded well, scoring 391 runs in the second innings. Now, since the Indian team had to set up a target, they scored 298 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, with the help of half-centuries scored by Mohammed Shami and Ajinkya Rahane. Now, England had the target of 272 runs in front of them.

Given an ultimatum by the captain, Mohammed Siraj seized the opportunity to bowl a memorable spell in the Lord’s. Coming down to bowl, he started by taking the wickets of Moeen Ali and Sam Curran on two consecutive deliveries. With these two consecutive wickets, England’s batting line-up stood at 7 down for the score of 90.

Wickets were falling on one side, while Jos Buttler held the other end. But it didn’t last long, as Siraj returned with the bowl and took the wicket of Jos Buttler in the 52nd over. With the last wicket left, Siraj finished the match with a thunderous delivery to Anderson, which struck right at the stumps. Although he didn’t secure a 5-wicket haul, his spell was helpful for the team’s massive win against England at the Lord’s.

Hardik Pandya — 5/28

Hardik Pandya, even after playing limited Test matches for the Indian team, holds his name in the list of best spells by Indian bowlers in England. He was a part of the team in the 2018 tour of England, where in the third Test, he unleashed his inner clutch player to play an important role with the ball.

In the first innings of the game, India scored 329 runs, which included impressive scores by Virat Kohli (97) and Ajinkya Rahane (81). England surely had a strong batting line-up, but it didn’t have the answers to Hardik Pandya when he stepped up with the ball.

Pandya started his wickets column with the England captain Joe Root, taking his wicket after he scored just 16 runs off 29 balls. This moment came in as a breakthrough for Hardik Pandya. But it was not a stop for him, as he took the wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes in the 31st over, which put England down to 118 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

Coming back in the 33rd over, he delivered double blows to the England team once again, taking the wickets of Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad in the same over. His spell remains underrated, and it also helped the Indian team to win the match by a margin of 203 runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar — 5/82

The Swing King, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has also been dominant for the Indian team in the England tour, as the pitch conditions favour his bowling style. Bhuvneshwar came out as one of the best bowlers for the Indian line-up in the 2014 tour when he gave a brilliant start in the first Test.

Batting first, the Indian team scored 457 runs in the first innings, which included some great knocks by Murali Vijay (146), MS Dhoni (82), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (58), and Mohammed Shami (51). After Bhuvi had made his impact with the bat, it was his time to shine with the ball in the second innings of the game.

When bowlers like Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jadeja, and others failed to take wickets, Bhuvneshwar Kumar seized the opportunity. He started off taking the wickets in the 71st over when he dismissed Matt Prior and Ben Stokes in the same over. Following that, Root and Broad were making a partnership, which was also broken by him in the 85th over, when he dismissed Broad.

Bhuvi didn’t allow the batsmen to set, as he dismissed Liam Plunkett in the 92nd over, putting England 9 down for 298. But James Anderson and Joe Root had a well-set partnership, which created a problem for the bowlers. Bhuvneshwar returned with the ball and took the wicket of Anderson, putting England all out for 496. The match resulted in a draw, with all the days being finished.

Ishant Sharma — 7/74

Ishant Sharma, the bowler who used his height to a great extent to trouble the batsmen, also dominated in the series against England. His best spell came against England in the 2014 tour, when he shone with the ball in the Lord’s Test, to help India win the game.

The match was standing at an edge, with batters from both India and England dominating the game. In the first innings, India scored 295, and England responded by scoring 319 runs for the same. Since India had to set a target, the team scored 342 runs in the third innings, giving England a target of 319 runs.

When the England batters thought it would be easy to chase down the score, Ishant Sharma had different plans. Bowling just 23 overs, he took 7 wickets and conceded 74 runs in his spell. He started off with the wicket of Ian Bell in the 30th over, followed by the wicket of Alastair Cook in the 32nd over.

Ishant Sharma continued his wicket-taking spree in the 76th over, when he dismissed Moeen Ali, followed by the wicket of Matt Prior in the 80th over. But he didn’t stop there, as he also went on to dismiss Ben Stokes and Joe Root in the same over, turning the game in India’s favour. He finished his spell with the wicket of Stuart Broad, as India won the match by 95 runs, with Sharma being the POTM.

As India prepares for the upcoming tour against England starting on 20th June, fans are hopeful for the dominance by the young bowlers against the English batsmen.