Spanning over two years from 2019 to 2021, the World Test Championship (WTC) was the perfect test for bowlers, who not only had to stay injury-free but also had to prove themselves on different overseas pitches time and again.
The Indian cricket team might not have lifted the mace after losing the WTC final to New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, but they can take some solace from the fact their star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finished the tournament with the most wickets in WTC.
Ravichandran Ashwin
The spinner ended the tournament with 71 wickets in 14 matches. Ashwin bowled 549.4 overs in this period, conceding 1444 runs at an economy rate of 2.62. His best bowling figures came during South Africa's tour of India in 2019 when the bowler ended with a seven-wicket haul in Visakhapatnam and conceded 145 runs. Ashwin bowled 105 maiden overs in 26 innings and notched four five-wicket hauls over the last two years.
Pat Cummins
The second-best bowler in the World Test Championship was Australian pacer Pat Cummins, who finished with 70 wickets in 14 matches. Bowling 555.3 overs, Cummins conceded 1472 runs at an economy rate of 2.64. His best bowling figures came against nemesis New Zealand in Melbourne in 2019, where the pacer scalped five wickets and conceded just 28 runs in 17 overs. It was the only five-wicket haul Cummins could manage in the World Test Championship.
Stuart Broad
English pacer Stuart Broad is the third-highest wicket-taker in the World Test Championship with 69 scalps to his name in 17 matches. Broad bowled 499.3 overs in these two years and conceded 1386 runs in the process, at an economy rate of 2.77. His best bowling display came during the West Indies tour of England in 2020 when Broad took six wickets in 14 overs and conceded just 31 runs in a Test match in Manchester. Broad also notched two five-wicket hauls during this period.
Most Wickets in World Test Championship (WTC)
|
Bowlers |
Matches |
Wickets |
|
Ravichandran Ashwin (India) |
14 |
71 |
|
Pat Cummins (Australia) |
14 |
70 |
|
Stuart Broad (England) |
17 |
69 |
|
Tim Southee (New Zealand) |
11 |
56 |
|
Nathan Lyon (Australia) |
14 |
56 |
|
Josh Hazlewood (Australia) |
11 |
48 |
|
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) |
12 |
47 |
|
Micthell Starc (Australia) |
10 |
44 |
|
Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand) |
7 |
43 |
|
Mohammed Shami (India) |
11 |
40 |
Featured Image: AFP/ Glyn Kirk
