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India and New Zealand are set to face each other in the Test series consisting of two matches from November 25. The first Test will take place at Green Park in Kanpur, while Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium shall host the second and final fixture of the two-match series.
The two-match leg will be part of the World Test Championship 2021-23 that began with India’s recent tour of England. Notably, both India and New Zealand faced each other in the final of the inaugural edition of WTC in Southampton, where the Black Caps won the contest by eight wickets.
Both India and New Zealand have one of the finest bowling attacks in the world at present, and fans can expect some top-quality bowling displays in the forthcoming fixtures. From Tim Southee to Ravichandran Ashwin, both the nations consist of high-quality bowlers who have the potential to turn the game on its head. On that note, let’s have a look at the top five wicket-takers in India-New Zealand Tests:
5.) Anil Kumble – 50 wickets
India’s all-time great spinner Anil Kumble completely dominated world cricket with his unique spin bowling mixed with pace and bounce. Kumble took 619 wickets in 132 Tests and is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket.
The Karnataka legend always bowled with pure class and puzzled one of the best batters in the business. The leg-spinner has a stunning record against New Zealand in the oldest format. Kumble played 11 matches against the Black Caps, in which he took 50 wickets, with 10/134 being his best performance.
Kumble picked up three fifers and one 10-wicket haul against New Zealand during his outstanding career.
4.) Ravichandran Ashwin – 52 wickets
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has achieved many landmarks in his illustrious career. He started dominating the longest format from the beginning. After just 18 matches, the right-armer bagged 100 Test wickets to become the fastest Indian to do so. Moreover, Ashwin is also the joint-fastest to pick up 250 scalps in Test cricket with legendary Muttiah Muralitharan.
With such huge achievements, there was no surprise that Ashwin performed exceptionally well against all top-quality teams, including New Zealand. The Chennai-lad appeared in 7 Tests against Black Caps and took 52 wickets, with 13/140 being his best.
Overall, Ashwin has so far played 79 Test matches and claimed 413 wickets, including thirty five-wicket hauls and seven 10-fers.
3.) Erapalli Prasanna – 55 wickets
One of India’s biggest match-winner, Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna, was an absolute maestro with the ball. Prasanna had outstanding control over his flight and had the capability to puzzle the best batters with unplayable deliveries.
Prasanna, who was a genius with the red ball, played 49 Tests for India and picked up 189 wickets with 10 fifers and a couple of 10-wicket hauls. When it comes to his performance against New Zealand, the Karnataka legend bagged 55 scalps, with 11/140 being his best performance.
2.) Bishan Singh Bedi – 57 wickets
Another Indian spinner in this list is legendary bowler Bishan Singh Bedi, who enjoyed a remarkable battle against some of the most high-quality batters during his time. Bedi used to bamboozle his opponents with classical spin bowling. His biggest USP was the variations in flight, loop, and pace without any change in action.
Bedi played 67 Tests for India and picked up 266 wickets with 14 four-wicket hauls and one 10-fers. He was quite successful against New Zealand in his magnificent career. Bedi appeared in as many as 14 Tests against the Black Caps, taking 57 wickets with 9/70 being his best.
1.) Richard Hadlee – 65 wickets
The only New Zealand bowler in this list is the legendary fast bowler Richard Hadlee, who tops the chart with as many as 65 wickets against India. Hadlee played 14 Tests against India from the period of 1976-1990 and completely dominated.
Hadlee picked up four five-wicket hauls and two 10-fers against India, including 11/58 being his best performance. Overall, the New Zealander appeared in 86 Tests, taking 431 wickets in his splendid Test career.
