5 best Test bowling performances of 2023 ft. Ravindra Jadeja
If you ask any player what he wants the most in his playing career, it would be playing Test cricket. It is the format that exemplifies and demonstrates the true character of your skillset and temperament.
And what better way to test your abilities at the highest level as a bowler against some of the best batsmen around, as it involves a lot of mental toughness?
In a year that saw teams preparing for the 2023 ODI World Cup with white-ball cricket getting prioritized on the calendar, test cricket still found its way.
Talking about test matches in 2023, we witnessed some great bowling performances this year as well, with bowlers across the globe challenging the defense of batsmen this year as well.
In this article, we will discuss some of those bowling performances that stole the limelight in 2023 in test matches.
#5 Noman Ali - 7/70 against Sri Lanka, Colombo
Trailing by a huge 410 runs, it was always going to be a matter of when and not if for Sri Lanka to crumble in their 2nd inning in Colombo against Pakistan.
But Noman Ali's exceptional spell, where he displayed great control over his variations and lengths, made things even more difficult for the Island Nation.
Only Angelo Mathews did show some resistance, along with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, to some extent. Noman Ali's 7/70 spell meant Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in their fortress within 4 days by a huge margin of an inning and 222 runs.
#4 Prabhath Jayasuriya - 7/52 against Ireland, Galle
Sri Lanka were always going to be too hot to handle for the inexperienced Irish side, especially in their own backyard.
And when Sri Lankan batsmen feasted on the talented but inexperienced Irish bowling attack and piled up 591/6d, the fate of the test match was more or less decided.
But as they say, you can't rule out any opposition in cricket. Ireland did try to fight with their best abilities, but Prabhath Jayasuriya ended their resilience by scalping up a 10-fer in the match with a 7/52 spell in the first inning.
#3 Ravindra Jadeja - 7/42 against Australia, Delhi
With both India and Australia finishing up with almost the same score in their first innings, it all boils down to a one-inning shootdown in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023 in Delhi.
What happened next is, as they say, history. Australia crumbled against Indian spinners, especially Ravindra Jadeja, who relentlessly bowled in the stumps channel to force Australian batsmen to play out of their comfort zone.
It seemed like they were not able to decide which ball was going to spin and which one was going straight, making them play unconventional shots more often than not. Jadeja finished up 7/42, folding the Australian innings at 113 runs.
#2 Gudakesh Motie - 7/37 against Zimbabwe, Bulawayo
Gudakesh Motie was all over Zimbabwe, picking up a 10-fer (13-99 in the match, overtaking Sonny Ramadhin's best figures of 11/152 for the West Indies) at Bulawayo in 2023.
It was Motie's spell in both innings that resulted in Zimbabwe failing to cross the 200-run mark on both occasions. Especially in the 1st inning of the Test, he was just too hot to handle for the Zimbabwean batsmen (registered 7/37), as they kept sweeping his impeccable lines and playing the wrong line and lengths.
#1 Nathan Lyon - 8/64 against India, Indore
It was a one-man show against India at Indore in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where Nathan Lyon almost emaluted Jim Laker, Anil Kumble, and Azaz Patel, picking up all 10 wickets in an innings.
Trailing by 88 runs on a surface with abundant assistance for the spinners, India needed some miraculous and inspirational performance from their batsmen to put up a challenging total for Australia to chase.
But Nathan Lyon had other plans. He, with his deceptive overspin, kept bowling in his trademark off-stump channel to keep the batsmen guessing which ball was going to turn or not. He ended up picking up 8/64, bundling the Indian innings to only 163 runs.