Top 5 spells from India-England Test series ft. Jasprit Bumrah

The five-match Test series between India and England concluded on Saturday, March 9, with Rohit Sharma & Co. emerging victorious. The hosts lost the first game but bounced back to win the remaining four games and seal the series 4-1.

The series witnessed both batters and bowlers putting up some great performances. Six bowlers picked up a five-wicket haul, with Shoaib Bashir and Ravichandran Ashwin achieving the feat twice. As a result, England’s tour of India witnessed eight five-wicket hauls.

On the batting front, while six batters notched up centuries, including two of Sharma’s and Shubman Gill’s tons, India’s young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal was the only player to notch up a double hundred, not just once but twice, as he emerged as the highest run-scorer of the series.

Throughout the series, the bowlers played a key role and the spinners dominated the charts. Among the list of eight fifers that were registered in this series, Jasprit Bumrah stood as the only pacer to have unlocked the achievement.

On that note, let us look at the top five spells from the recently concluded England tour of India.

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#5 Kuldeep Yadav- 5/72 in 5th Test at Dharamsala

The recently concluded series was a breakthrough moment for India’s spin sensation Kuldeep Yadav. The 29-year-old, after India’s win in the fifth Test, accepted that this particular series had been the best in his red-ball career.

Having made his Test debut seven years ago, Kuldeep had been out of India’s scheme of things throughout 2023. But he played four of the five Tests against England and put up phenomenal performances, interestingly with the bat too.

His finest performance in this series came in the fifth and final Test at Dharamsala, where he picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings to register 5/72 at an economy of 4.80. He was the wrecker-in-chief for India as he dismissed England’s top-order of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Ollie Pope.

Kuldeep then struck for the fourth time to dismiss Jonny Bairstow and eventually picked up opposition skipper Ben Stokes’ wicket to complete his first fifer of the series and his career’s fourth.

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#4 Ravichandran Ashwin- 5/51 in 4th Test at Ranchi

Ravichandran Ashwin was nothing but phenomenal in this series. The 37-year-old finished with 26 wickets to his name from five matches, including two five-wicket hauls and a four-wicket haul, at an average of 24.81.

The veteran posed as one of the biggest threats to the opposition. The Dharamsala Test was monumental for Ashwin, as he marked his 100th appearance in the format. To make it memorable, Ashwin picked up a fifer (5/77) in his 100th Test, becoming just the fourth bowler ever to do so.

While the off-spinner stood out with the ball in the fifth Test, his finest performance in the series came during the fourth Test at Ranchi, where he registered figures of 5/51 in the second essay to restrict England to 145 and set India an easy target of 192 runs.

Though Ashwin could not put up worthy performances with the bat in this series, he was India’s leading wicket-taker and spearheaded the bowling attack. During the spell in the fourth Test, Ashwin maintained a fine economy of 3.29.

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#3 Ravindra Jadeja- 5/41 in 3rd Test at Rajkot

Ravindra Jadeja too was brilliant both with the bat and the ball. He put up an all-round performance throughout the series and proved to be a key player in India’s playing combination across the four games that he participated in.

Jadeja’s finest performance in the series came when India hosted England at his home ground, the Niranjan Shah Stadium (earlier Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium), for the third Test. After notching up a century in the first innings, Jadeja followed it up with a fifer in the second essay.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 214* helped India set a target of 557 runs for the visitors to chase in the final innings. While Ben Stokes’ men looked confident, Jadeja had different plans. The 35-year-old ran through England’s batting lineup and wreaked havoc.

Jadeja picked up key wickets of Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Foakes, and Jonny Bairstow before dismissing Mark Wood to put an end to England’s innings at 122. The home-boy finished with 5/41 in 12.4 overs as India inched closer to a series win.

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#2 Jasprit Bumrah- 6/45 in 2nd Test at Visakhapatnam

India’s vice-captain for the five-match series, Jasprit Bumrah managed to pick up wickets in every game that he played. While he was rested for the fourth Test that was played in Ranchi, he finished with 19 wickets from four games at an average of 16.89, including a fifer and a four-fer.

Bumrah’s best performance came in the second Test at Visakhapatnam as he helped India level the series 1-1 after being 0-1 down. England were off to a good start to the first innings as Crawley’s half-century kept the visitors on track even after Duckett’s dismissal.

But Bumrah took the onus and picked up six wickets in the middle as England suffered a terrible collapse. Courtesy of the 30-year-old’s techniques combined with Kuldeep Yadav’s spin, England were dismantled for 253 in the first innings.

Bumrah registered figures of 6/45 in 15.5 overs, including five maidens, as his victims included Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Tom Hartley, and James Anderson. The Indian pacer picked up three wickets in the second essay to finish with a nine-wicket match haul.

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#1 Tom Hartley- 7/62 in 1st Test at Hyderabad

England handed Tom Hartley his Test cap in the first match of the series in Hyderabad, and the youngster did not leave any scope for either the skipper to the team management to doubt the decision. While the first innings was a tough pill to swallow for the 24-year-old, he breathed fire in the next.

Chasing a target of 231 runs, India looked determined and comfortable to win, but little did the hosts know about Hartley’s talent and skills. The Lancashire bowler ran through India’s top-order lineup to dismiss Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill as the hosts dropped to 63/3 in 18 overs.

Hartley then added the wickets of Axar Patel and Srikar Bharat to complete his maiden fifer in his first-ever international outing. After putting the hosts in deep trouble, Hartley rejoiced with the final two Indian wickets as he went on to dismiss Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj.

Tom Hartley ended with match-winning figures of 7/62 and finished with a match-haul of 9/193. While his performance helped him to retain his spot in England’s XI for all five games, Hartley’s spell, and his economy of 2.37 from this game, were also the best by any bowler throughout the series.