5 Bowlers With The Most Wickets In Tests In 2021

The year 2021 has been a great year for Tests. Already cricket fans have witnessed some of the exceptional performances by batsmen, bowlers, and overall by a team. The year 2021 has witnessed the crowning of the first-ever World Test Champions. Notably, Virat Kohli-led India faced Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final and The Blackcaps emerged victorious becoming inaugural champions by lifting the precious Test mace.

Meanwhile, in this article, we will take you through the list of Top 5 bowlers who have dominated the year 2021 with their sensational performances. Notably, So far 15 bowlers have bagged 20+ Test wickets and only 4 of them have crossed the 30 wickets mark.

5 Bowlers With The Most Wickets In Tests In 2021

5. Ollie Robinson

The year 2021 has been a roller coaster ride for the English pacer. He made his presence felt for the first time in Tests in his debut match against New Zealand at Home Of Cricket Lord’s Cricket Ground, London in June. In his debut match, he went on to pick 4 wickets in the first innings and 3 wickets in the second innings. However, after that match, he got involved in a controversy where his old tweets went viral which had some controversial statements which led him to get banned.

However, later his ban got lifted and he was permitted to participate in the 5-match Test series against India and so far he has been doing a terrific job. He has already picked a 5 wicket haul at Nottingham and Leeds. Overall, in 5 games he has picked 28 wickets at an average economy and strike rate of 18.25, 2.58, and 42.20 respectively.

4. James Anderson

James Anderson is the most prolific Test pacer of all time, no pacer in the history of the purest form of the game has managed to play as many Test games as the 39-year-old English pacer. The G.O.A.T pacer just keeps getting better with time and it never looked like he has lost his charm, he became the first-ever pacer to pick 600 wickets in Tests.

He recently surpassed Legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble to enter the Top 3 of highest Test wicket-takers of all time. Currently, he has 632 wickets in his bag and is just behind legendary spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

James Anderson has played 10 Tests in 2021 bowling 327.5 overs and picking 32 wickets at an average, economy, and strike rate of 22.46, 2.19, and 61.4 respectively. Meanwhile, he also has 2 five-wicket hauls under his belt.

3. Hasan Ali

The Pakistan speedster Hasan Ali comes in the number 3 spot in the list of most wickets in Tests in 2021. Hasan Ali is a modest medium pacer with a very simple-looking action. However, he has got numerous variations which have led him to get a lot of success in Tests.

So far in 2021, Hasan Ali has bagged 32 wickets in 6 Test matches he played in 2021, Notably, he has bowled 169.5 overs. Hasan Ali has picked his wickets at an average, economy, and phenomenal strike rate of 16.21,3.05 and 31.80. He already has four 5-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in 2021 in Tests.

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2. Shaheen Shah Afridi

Yet another Pakistan Pacer in the list, this time the 21-year-old young bowling sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm pacer has got a very clean bowling action and he delivers bowls at the perfect line and length and is very accurate with the ball in his hand in each and every format. He has earned a lot of praise from cricket fans and experts for having such amazing skills at a very young age.

The 2021 year has been an excellent year of youngsters in Tests. As he has already picked 37 wickets in 231.5 overs he bowled in 7 matches. Afridi has in total two 5-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul in the match. His best bowling figure in an inning is 6/51 and in a match is 10/94. Shaheen Shah Afridi has picked his wickets at an average of 18.00 economy of 2.87 and strike rate of 37.50 in Test cricket in 2021.

1. Ravichandran Ashwin

In the fast bowlers-dominated list the Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tops the chart of most Test wickets in the year 2021. Ashwin is arguably one of the best Test off-spinner in the history of Test cricket. He was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship with a tally of 71 wickets. Overall he has already scalped 413 Test wickets making him the 4th highest wickets taker in Tests among Indians.

Things have been not going in favor of Ravichandran Ashwin in the ongoing 5-match Test series against England as he has been unable to find a spot in playing XI after the new template of 4 Pacers in the Indian team. However, despite missing matches, he is sitting at the top of highest wicket-takers with 38 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 18.02 economy of 2.61 and strike rate of 41.30. He also has three 5-wicket hauls in his name.

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