Best Bowling Figures in Cricket: Innings Records by Format

How the Best Bowling Lists Are Ranked

Each row is a single innings by a single bowler. Figures are ranked by wickets first, then by fewest runs conceded. That is why Stuart Broad’s 8/15 sits below Rangana Herath’s 9/127: one extra wicket outranks any number of runs saved. Among equal wicket counts, the cheaper spell goes higher, so Broad’s 8/15 leads Glenn McGrath’s 8/24.

The overs column shows how long each spell took. It is not used in the ranking, but it adds context. Broad needed only 9.3 overs for his eight, while Patel bowled 47.5 overs for his ten.

All three tables are built from the same ball-by-ball data used across the site, so the figures match the bowling lists on the Test records, ODI records and T20I records pages. Tap a column heading to sort a table by another field.

Best Bowling Figures in Tests

Patel’s 10/119 against India is the only ten-wicket innings in the data and stands alone at the top. Two nine-wicket hauls follow, both by spinners: Herath’s 9/127 for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in Aug 2014 and Keshav Maharaj’s 9/129 for South Africa against Sri Lanka in Jul 2018.

The eight-wicket list is a mix. Broad (SCJ Broad, England) took 8/15 against Australia on 6 Aug 2015 in an Ashes Test, and McGrath (GD McGrath, Australia) took 8/24 against Pakistan in Dec 2004. After that the list turns to spin, with Pakistan especially prominent: Yasir Shah (8/41), Sajid Khan (8/42) and Nauman Ali (8/46) all appear, making Pakistan the team with the most entries in the Test top 10. Taijul Islam’s 8/39 for Bangladesh and D Bishoo’s 8/49 for the West Indies complete the list.

Best Bowling Figures in ODIs

Top of the ODI list is Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), whose 7/12 demolished the West Indies in Jul 2013. McGrath is second with 7/15 against Namibia on 27 Feb 2003, the match in which Namibia were bowled out for 45. He is the only bowler to appear in both the Test and ODI top 10s.

Every entry in the ODI top 10 is a seven-wicket haul, which shows how rare eight in a one-day innings is. Wanindu Hasaranga (PWH de Silva, Sri Lanka) took 7/19 against Zimbabwe in only 5.5 overs, and C Cassell (Scotland) took 7/21 in 5.4 overs against Oman. Ali Khan (USA) and Tim Southee (TG Southee, New Zealand) also feature. The costliest seven-for on the list is Mohammed Shami’s 7/57, taken for India against New Zealand in Nov 2023.

Best Bowling Figures in T20Is

T20I records look very different because full T20I status was opened to every ICC member, and the top figures mostly come from matches between newer teams. S Yeshi (Bhutan) took 8/7 in 4 overs against Myanmar on 26 Dec 2025, the only eight-wicket T20I spell in the data. S Gill (Kenya) took 7/7 against Cameroon in May 2026 and Syazrul Idrus (Malaysia) 7/8 against China in Jul 2023.

Nine of the ten entries were taken by bowlers from associate teams. The exception is Deepak Chahar (DL Chahar, India), whose 6/7 cost Bangladesh dearly in Nov 2019, the only entry from a Test-playing nation. N Master (Botswana) has the cheapest six-wicket return, 6/2 in 2.4 overs.

For the wider picture, see the international cricket records or highest and lowest team totals.