The pink ball has been a blessing for bowlers, providing them a bit of respite from continuous bashing. It’s the making of the pink ball that has provided bowlers the power to dominate batting lineups.
The pink ball moves in the air for a lot longer than the red ball, helping bowlers keep batters on their toes. Plus, batting during twilight and under the floodlights has become a challenge for batters.
Riding on these favourable bowling conditions, many bowlers have displayed their ultimate skills, racking up wickets in bunches.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 best bowling figures registered in pink-ball Test matches.
Best Bowling Figures in Pink Ball Tests
| Player | Bowling Figures | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devendra Bishoo (WI) | 8/49 | Pakistan | Dubai (DICS) | 13 Oct 2016 |
| Shamar Joseph (WI) | 7/68 | Australia | Brisbane | 25 Jan 2024 |
| Pat Cummins (AUS) | 6/23 | Sri Lanka | Brisbane | 24 Jan 2019 |
| Trent Boult (NZ) | 6/32 | England | Auckland | 22 Mar 2018 |
| Mark Wood (ENG) | 6/37 | Australia | Hobart | 14 Jan 2022 |
| Axar Patel (IND) | 6/38 | England | Ahmedabad | 24 Feb 2021 |
| Mitchell Starc (AUS) | 6/48 | India | Adelaide | 6 Dec 2024 |
| Mitchell Starc (AUS) | 6/66 | Pakistan | Adelaide | 29 Nov 2019 |
| Josh Hazlewood (AUS) | 6/70 | New Zealand | Adelaide | 27 Nov 2015 |
| Yasir Shah (PAK) | 6/184 | Sri Lanka | Dubai (DICS) | 6 Oct 2017 |
Key Insights
1: Josh Hazlewood became the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a pink ball Test. He registered the figures of six for 70 against New Zealand in the 2015 inaugural day/night Test.
8/49: Devendra Bishoo’s bowling figures are the best by a bowler in pink-ball Test cricket. He racked up eight of 10 wickets of Pakistan in the 2016 Dubai Test. These are also the best figures in a losing day/nighter.
7/68: Shamar Joseph’s historic spell against Australia in the 2024 Brisbane pink-ball match. The Caribbean pacer’s seven-for helped the West Indies break Australia’s unbeaten streak in day/night Tests.
4: Mitchell Starc has picked up the most five-wicket hauls in pink-ball Tests. Thus far, the Australian left-arm pacer has taken 4 fifers. Axar Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Trent Boult, and Yasir Shah are the other bowlers with multiple fifers. Starc also tops the wicket-counts in the day-night Test matches.
11/70: The match figures of Axar Patel, the best by a bowler in a day/night affair. The Indian left-arm spinner took six for 38 and five for 32 against England in the 2021 Ahmedabad Test. Thus far, Patel is the only bowler to grab five-wicket hauls in both innings of a pink-ball Test.
