Top five wicket-takers for India in day-night Test matches

The introduction of the day-night test matches brought back the waning interest of the fans in Test cricket to some extent.

The fact that pink balls are used instead of the typical red balls adds interest to the game. In contrast to conventional red-ball cricket, this presented new difficulties for both bowlers and hitters.

India played their first day-night Test when they locked horns against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in November 2019. They have a good record after playing a few games so far.

India has dominated pink-ball home tests, winning all three thus far. Bowlers deserve much of the credit for this success because they have performed incredibly well.

In this article, let’s discuss India's top five wicket-takers in day-night Test matches.

5. Ishant Sharma – 10 Wickets

Among India's pacers, Ishant Sharma has claimed the second-most Test wickets. He was also the first bowler from India to take five wickets in a pink-ball Test. Ishant played two day-night Tests – against Bangladesh and England. With his best figures of 5/22 against Bangladesh, he claimed 10 wickets in those two Tests.

4. Jasprit Bumrah – 10 Wickets

Jasprit Bumrah, India's leading pacer, has participated in three day-night Test matches so far. He has taken 10 wickets in those games at an average of 14.50. In the match against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, he was outstanding, taking eight wickets with best figures of 5/24.

3. Umesh Yadav – 11 Wickets

During his era, Umesh Yadav was one of the most underappreciated Test bowlers. He frequently gave powerful performances in home conditions. Umesh participated in two day-night Test matches against - Bangladesh and Australia. In those, he claimed 11 wickets at an average of 15.54 and best figures of 5/53 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.

2. Axar Patel – 14 Wickets

Axar Patel participated in two day-night tests, one against England in Ahmedabad and the other against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. In the Ahmedabad test, he was named Man of the Match after destroying the English batting lineup twice in a single match. 

He registered figures of 6/38 and 5/32 in the pink-ball test against England in 2021 where India won the game by 10 wickets. He took three wickets against Sri Lanka. With two fifers, he has claimed 14 wickets at an average of just 9.14 in two games. Currently, he is the only bowler from India who has taken ten or more wickets in a day-night Test match.

1. Ravichandran Ashwin – 18 Wickets

In day-night Test matches, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken the most wickets for India. He has already claimed 18 wickets at an average of 13.83 in his four pink-ball Tests. Despite not having a five-for in day-night Tests, he has claimed three four-wicket hauls, one each against Australia, Sri Lanka, and England.

Cover Credits - BCCI Official