Australia beat India by massive 333 runs in the first Test at Pune to take 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series. Kohli’s brigade couldn’t face Australia’s Steven O’Keefe who took 12 wickets in the match that helped the Aussies to hammer India. India could face only 74 overs in that entire test match and Kohli & Co could aggregate only 212 runs.
As Steven O’ Keefe destroyed the India batting line up, here is the list of top 5 bowlers who have registered their best bowling figures against India in India:
1. Sir Ian Botham – The all-time great bowler for England. This was the Golden Jubilee one-off test played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 1980. Sir Ian Botham’s match winning spell of 13 wickets for 106 runs helped England win this test by 10 wickets. Botham took 6 wickets in the 1st innings to restrict India 242 and went on to take 7 wickets in the 2nd innings to bowl out India for just 149. England won the game very easily by 10 wickets in the end.
2. Steven O’ Keefe – This young lad is touring India for the first time. However, he bowled as if he knew the Pune pitch perfectly. His bowling figures of 12 wickets for 70 runs is the second best bowling figure after Sir Ian Botham. After picking up KL Rahul’s wicket in the first innings Steven was unstoppable. No one expected him to turn the game around in his team’s favour. In the 2nd innings too he was equally dangerous.
3. Fazal Mahmood – This match winning spell of 12 wickets for 94 runs from Fazal Mahmood allowed Pakistan to win first ever test on Indian soil. Pakistan toured India for 5-test series. After losing the first game, Pakistan came back strong in the second game. Pakistan’s right arm medium pacer took 5 wickets that allowed Pakistan to bowl out India for just 106 in their 1st innings. The Pakistani pace bowler was unstoppable in the 2nd innings too. He took 7 wickets in the 2nd innings to ensure that Pakistan won this test match by innings and 43 runs. Fazal Mahmood ended up with figures of 12 for 94.
4. Sir Andy Roberts – The fast and furious West Indies fast bowler rattled the Indian batting line up picking up 12 wickets in the match. Roberts picked up 7 in the 1st and 5 in the 2nd innings. But that wasn’t enough as West Indies’s batsmen failed to chase down the target of 255 runs. India won that game by 100 runs in the end.
5. Alan Davidson – In India’s first match against Australia in Kanpur in 1959 in Kanpur, batting first India could just score 152 runs in their 1st innings. It was Alan Davidson superb figures of 5/31 that led to India’s batting collapse. In the 2nd innings, it was Alan Davidson again who took 7/93 and bagged a 12-wicket haul in that match