Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports. As a result, interest in this sport is expected to skyrocket in the coming years. As a result, the most common forms of cricket have grown in popularity. The Test, Twenty20, One Day, and IPL are examples of these formats.
More interestingly, bowling is an art form in all forms of cricket. It takes skill, talent, speed, and a lot of luck. With a single good delivery, the best bowlers can change the outcome of a match. Further, they also can bring the best batters to tears, confuse the most experienced batters, and force the best fielding teams to change their strategies.
In addition, bowlers were expected to bowl long spells and take wickets in the early days of the game. However, today’s match conditions demanded a different approach to bowling, with bowlers expected to bowl a set number of overs at a certain speed and limit the opposition to a certain number of runs.
Without a doubt, bowling is the most influential sport in cricket. So, in this post, we will look at the most exciting bowling figures from the T20, ODI, Test, and IPL competitions.
Here are the top 5 best bowling figures in T20, ODI, Test and IPL.
Contents
Top 5 bowling figures in ODI
| Bowler | Country | Figures | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| ChamindaVass | Sri Lanka | 8/19 | Zimbabwe | Colombo | 2001 |
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 7/12 | West Indies | Guyana | 2013 |
| Glenn Mcgrath | Australia | 7/15 | Namibia | Potchefstroom | 2003 |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 7/18 | West Indies | Gros Islet | 2017 |
| Andy Bichel | Australia | 7/20 | England | Port Elizabeth | 2003 |
Chaminda Vass 8/19: A left-arm seamer from Sri Lanka, Chaminda Vaas, had the best bowling figures in ODI cricket of all time. He managed to stop Zimbabwe for just 38 runs, the fourth-lowest score in ODI history.
Shahid Afridi 7/12: In Guyana against the West Indies, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi took the ball to wrap Dwayne Bravo’s squad for just 98 runs after setting a target of 225. Moreover, Shahid Afridi’s 7/12 is considered one of the best bowling spinners in ODI cricket.
Glenn Mcgrath 7/15: Glenn Mcgrath of Australia took 7 wickets by giving just 15 runs. At the same time, secure a massive victory for this country against Namibia.
Rashid Khan 7/18: Rashid Khan, in just 8.4 overs, took crucial 7 wickets by just providing 18 runs. While the opposition team was the West Indies which had powerful batters.
Anil Kumble 6/12: Among the top Indian spinners, Anil Kumble’s 6/12 against West Indies is one of the best bowling figures in ODIs.
Best 5 bowling figures in T-20
| Player | Figures | Against | Venue | Date |
| Peter Aho | 6/5 | Sierra Leone | Lagos | 24 Oct 2021 |
| Deepak Chahar | 6/7 | Bangladesh | Nagpur | 10 Nov 2019 |
| Dinesh Nakrani | 6/7 | Lesotho | Kigali | 19 Oct 2021 |
| Ajantha Mendis | 6/8 | Zimbabwe | Hambantota | 18 Sep 2012 |
| JJ Smit | 6/10 | Uganda | Windhoek | 10 April 2022 |
Peter Aho 6/5: The best bowling figure in T20 international matches belongs to Nigerian right-arm pacer Peter Aho, who picked 6 wickets for 5 runs against Sierra Leone in Lagos on 24 October 2021.
Deepak Chahar 6/7: In the T20 internationals, Deepak Chahar, an Indian medium-pacer, took 6 wickets while playing against Bangladesh at Nagpur in 2019. Hence, the victory helped India achieve a margin of 30 runs.
Dinesh Nakrani 6/7: The left-arm allrounder Dinesh Nakrani of Uganda is ranked third for taking the most wickets in the T20 International. On 19 Oct 2021, he helped Uganda to victory by 10 wickets against Lesotho in Kigali.
Ajantha Mendis 6/8: Against Zimbabwe in the 1st match of the T20 World Cup 2012, Ajantha Mendis, a former right-arm off-break spinner formerly of Sri Lanka, took 6 wickets for 8 runs in his bowling figures.
JJ Smit 6/10: Recently, on 10 April 2022, the renowned Namibia bowler JJ Smit claimed 6 wickets by just giving 10 runs. Besides, he performed exceptionally in that particular innings.
Best 5 bowling figures in Test
| Player | Team | Wickets | Over | Maiden | Runs | Against |
| 1. Jim Laker | England | 10 | 51.2 | 23 | 53 | Australia |
| 2. Anil Kumble | India | 10 | 26.3 | 9 | 74 | Pakistan |
| 3. Ajaz Patel | New Zealand | 10 | 47.5 | 12 | 119 | India |
| 4. George Lohmann | England | 9 | 14.2 | 6 | 28 | South Africa |
| 5. Jim Laker | England | 9 | 16.4 | 4 | 37 | Australia |
Jim Laker 10/53: In that match against Australia, Jim Laker picked up 9 wickets for 37 runs. Besides that, he also took 10 wickets in the third innings, leading England to secure a significant victory against their rivals Australia.
Anil Kumble 10/74: A four-wicket performance from Anil Kumble helped India bowl out Pakistan for 172 in the second innings. India scored 339 runs in the third innings to give Pakistan a 419-run target.
Ajaz Patel 10/119: It was the third time in the history of Test Cricket that a player has taken all 10 wickets in a single inning. Therefore Ajaz Patel created history on the second day of the second Test between India and New Zealand.
George Lohmann 9/28: George Lohmann has made the best bowling figures of all time. This was achieved by his performance against South Africa in 1896.
Jim Laker 9/37: In the fourth Test between England and Australia during the 1956 tour of England by Australia. He picked up nine wickets for just 37 runs and bowled Australia out for 84 runs. The match ended with England winning by an innings and 170 runs.
Best 5 bowling figures in IPL
| Player | Overs | Bowling Figures | Economy | Against | Year |
| Alzarri Joseph | 3.4 | 6/12 | 3.27 | SRH | 2019 |
| Sohail Tanvir | 4 | 6/14 | 3.50 | CSK | 2008 |
| Adam Zampa | 4 | 6/19 | 4.75 | SRH | 2016 |
| Anil Kumble | 3.1 | 5/5 | 1.57 | RR | 2009 |
| Ishant Sharma | 3 | 5/12 | 4 | KTK | 2011 |
Alzarri Joseph 6/12: Joseph snatched 6 wickets for 12 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2019, a record-breaking performance in IPL history.
Sohail Tanvir 6/14: Sohail Tanvir, Pakistan bowler, claimed six wickets for 14 runs against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the 2008 IPL.
Adam Zampa 6/19: Zampa, the spin bowler by just giving 19 crucial runs, grabbed six wickets in one innings after Tanvir and Alzarri Joseph.
Anil Kumble 5/5: In 2009, Kumble took five wickets for 5 runs, as he guided the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a 75-run win over the Rajasthan Royals after just his 3.1 overs.
Ishant Sharma 5/12: In 2011, Ishant took 5 wickets by giving just 12 runs while playing for the Deccan Chargers against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
Wrapping Up
Cricket is known as a game of strategy, but there’s no denying that some bowlers play a brute role in the match. Meanwhile, in the final overs of a game, when the opposition needs to win the game, they are the ones who bowl at some of the most dangerous batters in the world and still manage to pick up a wicket. Therefore, these are the men who make cricket so exciting.
To conclude, we have provided some unbelievable bowling figures of great bowlers. Further, after proper research only, we have guided you through the top 5 best bowling figures in IPL, ODI, T20 and test. Hope you like our content.
