Top four spin bowling pairs in history of Test cricket
Spin bowling has been the most decorated art in the longest format. Barring the sub continent decks, there are very few strips in the world that offer assistance to spinners ahead of the third day. However, the spinners become dangerous when they hunt in pair on any given strip. Let us have a look at Test cricket's most successful spin bowling pairs.
Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan is the only bowler to have taken 800 Test wickets. His quirky action and deceptive deliveries often landed the most proficient batsmen in trouble. Another veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, who was majorly known for his batting, complemented him from the opposite end. Surprisingly, the duo tops the chart, having shared 667 wickets in 90 Tests at an average of 22.56.
Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh led the Indian spin attack in the 2000s under Sourav Ganguly. Besides shining in the sub continent conditions, the dynamic duo also made waves overseas. While Kumble is India's leading wicket-taker (619) in Test cricket, the latter (417) follows him at the third spot. They accounted for 501 scalps together from 54 Tests at 30.22.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took the baton of spin bowling in the next decade. The duo flourished in the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and still continues to rule in Test cricket. Ashwin has become India's third highest wicket-taker (365) among spinners with Jadeja (213) too climbing up. They have snapped up 379 wickets together in 37 Tests at an average of 22.35.
During the 1970s, the famous spin quartet (Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, and Bishan Singh Bedi) led India to historic series wins outside Asia. Among them, Chandrasekhar and Bedi stood out as a spin bowling pair. The leg-spinner was touted as the biggest match-winner, while Bedi is still India's leading wicket-taker among left-arm spinners. They claimed 368 scalps from 42 Tests at 27.96.
