Indian bowlers with best Test figures against New Zealand
Indian off-spinner Washington Sundar scripted history after registering a seven-wicket haul against New Zealand in the 2nd Test in Pune. Sundar bowled with precision as the Kiwis, electing to bat first, were bowled out for 259. He bagged the joint third-best bowling figures for India against New Zealand in Test cricket, with Ravichandran Ashwin. Here are the Indian bowlers who lead this tally.
S Venkataraghavan: 8/72 in 1965, Delhi
Former spinner S Venkataraghavan holds the best bowling figures for India against New Zealand in Tests. He starred in India's seven-wicket win over the Kiwis in the 1965 Delhi Test. Venkataraghavan took eight wickets for 72 runs in the first innings, where NZ were bowled out for 262. India then responded with a mammoth 465/8d, with skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi scoring a ton.
EAS Prasanna: 8/76 in 1975, Auckland
Erapalli Prasanna remains the only other Indian to have taken eight wickets in a Test innings against New Zealand. His exploits came in the 1975 Auckland Test, where India famously defeated the home side by eight wickets. Prasanna recorded a second-innings eight-fer (8/76) as NZ perished for 215. Notably, Prasanna also became India's then-highest wicket-taker in Tests, going past Vinoo Mankad.
Sundar and Ashwin: 7/59
As mentioned, Sundar entered this elite list in the ongoing Pune Test against New Zealand. On his Test return, the spin-bowling all-rounder recorded his career-best bowling figures in First-Class cricket (7/59). His teammate Ashwin also registered figures worth 7/59 against the Kiwis in the 2017 Indore Test. Ashwin overall took 13 wickets as India won by 321 runs.
Domination of Tamil Nadu bowlers
As per Cricbuzz, three of these four bowlers have represented Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. Only Prasanna played for Karnataka in domestic cricket. The former off-spinner took 957 wickets in his First-Class career.
