Bowling Records

IND vs ENG Test Records: Best Bowling Figures

PlayerBowling FiguresOversAgainstVenueMatch Date
Fred Trueman (ENG)8/318.4IndiaManchester17 Jul 1952
Vinoo Mankad (IND)8/5538.5EnglandChennai6 Feb 1952
Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (IND)8/7941.5EnglandDelhi20 Dec 1972
John Lever (ENG)7/4623.0IndiaDelhi17 Dec 1976
Ian Botham (ENG)7/4826.0IndiaWankhede15 Feb 1980
Ravindra Jadeja (IND)7/4825.0EnglandChennai16 Dec 2016
Hedley Verity (ENG)7/4923.5IndiaChennai10 Feb 1934
Alec Bedser (ENG)7/4929.1IndiaLord’s22 Jun 1946
Alec Bedser (ENG)7/5225.0IndiaManchester20 Jul 1946
Tom Hartley (ENG)7/6226.2IndiaHyderabad25 Jan 2024

Key Insights

Fred Trueman has registered the best bowling figures in an innings in India-England Tests. He racked up eight wickets for 31 runs in the first innings of the 1952 Manchester Test. It is the third overall best bowling performance of all time against India.

Alec Bedser is the only bowler to take seven wickets in two different innings. He had figures of 7 for 49 (first innings) at Lord’s and 7 for 52 (fourth innings) at Manchester in 1946.

Bedser’s 7 for 49 panned out in his debut Test innings, which John Lever bettered in 1976. Lever nabbed seven wickets while giving away 46 runs in the Delhi Test. Tom Hartley (7/62) is the other bowler with a seven-for in India-England matches on Test debut.

Bedser and Lever went on to grab ten-wicket match hauls, with Bedser’s 11 for 145 being the best on debut. Bedser picked up one more ten-for (11/93, Manchester), the only bowler to do so.

Speaking of overall match hauls, Ian Botham has the best in India-England Tests. His six and seven strikes combined to give the match haul of 13 for 106 in the 1980 Golden Jubilee Test.

Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s 8 for 79 are the best bowling figures in a losing cause. His effort couldn’t materialise in a win in the 1972 Delhi Test.

Chandrasekhar shares the top spot with Ravichandran Ashwin for taking the most five-wicket hauls in India versus England Tests.

Bishan Singh Bedi has delivered the most expensive bowling figures in India-England Tests. He gave away 226 runs while taking six wickets in the 1974 Lord’s Test.