Simon Harmer: Presenting the spinner's Test stats in India
What's the story
South Africa cricket team spinner, Simon Harmer, won the Player of the Series award for a whopping 17 wickets against India in the just concluded two-match Test series. South Africa won the series by a 2-0 margin with Harmer contributing immensely. His 6/37 in the 4th innings of the 2nd Test in Guwahati, helped the Proteas win the match by a record 408 runs.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Harmer showed India how to bowl as he outmarted his counterparts across both Tests. This was a magical performance from the spin sensation, who followed his successive four-fers at Eden Gardens with nine wickets in Guwahati. Notably, Harmer has played 4 Tests in India and his numbers are pretty remarkable. His brilliance in the 2025 Test series will be savored for a long time.
Numbers
Harmer averages 15.03 in India (Tests)
Across 4 Tests, Harmer averages 15.03 in India. He owns 27 wickets with his economy rate being 2.49. As mentioned, he picked 17 wickets in the just concluded two-Test series at 8.94. His economy rate reads 1.91. Apart from a five-wicket haul, he picked two four-fers and a three-fer. In 2015, he claimed 10 scalps from 2 matches at 25.40 (4w: 2).
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2nd and 3rd-best match figures in India for South Africa
As per Cricbuzz, Harmer's match figures of 9/101 in the 2025 Guwahati Test are the second best for the Proteas in India after Dale Steyn's 10/108 in Nagpur, 2010. Meanwhile, Harmer's 8/51 in the first Kolkata Test ranks third in this list.
Bowling
3rd-best bowling figures (innings) among SA bowlers in India
Harmer's 6/37 in the 4th innings of the Guwahati Test is now the 3rd-best figures by a Proteas bowler in India (Tests). Lance Klusener tops the show with 8/64 versus India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, 1996. He is followed by Steyn, who picked 7/51 in 16.4 overs in Nagpur, 2010.
Information
Harmer's Test and First-Class stats
From 14 Tests, Harmer has picked 69 wickets at 21.79. He has 7 four-fers and two five-wicket hauls. As per ESPNcricinfo, Harmer has picked a whopping 1,017 wickets in First-Class cricket at 26.05. He has 51 four-fers and 59 five-wicket hauls.