Statistical comparison between Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan (Tests)
Senior pacer Ishant Sharma was a part of Team India's historic Test win at Lord's this month. He took a total of five wickets as India registered a massive victory against England. In the process, he equaled former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan in terms of Test wickets. Zaheer is one of India's greatest pacers across formats. Here is the statistical comparison between the two.
Ishant Sharma in Test cricket
Ishant made his Test debut in 2007 against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. After over a decade, he is a veteran of more than 300 Test wickets. In a long-standing Test career, Ishant has accounted for 311 wickets from 103 matches at an average of 32.19. The tally comprises 11 five-wicket hauls and one haul of 10 wickets (10/108).
A look at the Test career of Zaheer
Zaheer is regarded as India's best left-arm fast bowler. In a career that spanned over a decade, he made the greatest batsmen grovel with his vicious swing in both Test and white-ball cricket. The former left-arm seamer represented India in 92 Tests, having taken 311 scalps at 32.94. Just like Ishant, he also registered 11 five-wicket hauls and one haul of 10 wickets.
Wickets in away Tests
Zaheer is India's third-highest wicket-taker in away Test matches. He has taken 207 wickets from 54 Tests at 31.47 (8 five-fors). Ishant is just behind Zaheer on this tally with 204 wickets. He has registered one more five-wicket haul than Zaheer in foreign conditions. Anil Kumble (269) and Kapil Dev (215) are the top-two wicket-takers on this list.
Feats attained by Zaheer and Ishant
Over the years, Ishant has become India's leading wicket-taker in England. He recently overtook Kapil Dev to achieve this feat. Ishant is the only Indian bowler to have taken over 50 wickets in the nation. Meanwhile, Zaheer remains the second-fastest Indian pacer to take 300 wickets (89 matches). He also has the distinction of registering the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets (Tests).
Same number of Test wickets at home
Interestingly, both Ishant and Zaheer have the same number of Test wickets at home. Ishant has picked up 104 scalps in 41 home Tests at 31.11. On the other hand, the former Indian bowler owns as many wickets from 38 Tests at home.
Contribution in winning cause
Ishant has helped Team India script quite a few memorable Test wins. India's spell-binding victory at Lord's in 2014 is a testament to this. In winning cause, Ishant has snapped up 158 wickets from 48 Tests at an incredible average of 24.41. Notably, Zaheer was also a match-winner in his era. He took just nine less wickets than Ishant in such matches (38).
