Most wickets on a single ground in Tests: Muthiah Muralidaran owns the record

Test cricket, the oldest format of the game, has seen a plethora of records created over the years with some of the finest cricketers etching their names in the history books.

With the leather in hand, a few bowlers have made specific stadiums their own. They have acclimatised themselves to the ground’s conditions and become their team’s main weapon to torment the opposition whenever a match was staged at that venue.

Former Sri Lanka spinner Muthiah Muralidaran is a classic example of such a bowler, who has registered the most wickets on a single ground in Test cricket.

Most wickets on a single ground in Tests

Muthiah Muralidaran

Muralidaran is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers to have graced the game of cricket. Having taken 800 scalps in his Test career, the most wickets in Test cricket history, Muralidaran was unplayable especially in his home country Sri Lanka.

Out of these 800 wickets, 166 were registered at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, 117 at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy, 111 at the Galle International Stadium and 52 at P Sara Oval in Colombo. 

Interestingly, all these figures are the most wickets on a single ground in Tests by one player, indicating how lethal the offbreak bowler was on his home soil.

James Anderson

The English pacer is next on the list of cricketers with the most wickets on a single ground in Tests, having taken 117 wickets at the iconic Lord’s Stadium in London. 

James Anderson, who has the most wickets in international cricket among pacers, registered his best bowling figures of 7/42 in an innings in the longest format of the game at the Mecca of cricket. 

In a match against West Indies in September 2017, the seamer achieved the seven-wicket haul in the second innings to win a low-scoring contest for his team by nine wickets.

Stuart Broad

Another Englishman to feature on the list of bowlers with the most wickets on a single ground in Tests is Stuart Broad.

The right-arm pacer has taken 102 wickets at the Lord’s cricket ground, just behind his compatriot James Anderson.

Out of these 102 wickets, 11 were registered against the Windies in the first Test of the West Indies tour of England 2012, where his breathtaking performance with the ball guided England to a five-wicket win.

Interestingly, his highest individual score in Tests also came on this ground, when he smashed 169 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test against Pakistan in August 2010, where the Andrew Strauss-led side won by an innings and 225 runs.

Rangana Herath

Rangana Herath played alongside Muralidaran for a decade and the two formed one of the most destructive bowling duos in the 2000s.

The two grounds, namely Galle International Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, have seen Herath scalp 102 and 84 wickets, respectively.

In his glittering Test career, the Sri Lankan took 433 wickets in just 93 matches, with one of his best performances coming against the Proteas in December 2011, when his 9/128 helped the Lankans win their first-ever Test in South Africa.

Anil Kumble

Among Indians, veteran spinner Anil Kumble has racked up 58 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the same venue he bagged a 10-wicket haul in an innings in Tests.

Playing against Pakistan in February 1999, Kumble ended with 10 wickets in the second innings, helping India win by 212 runs.

Photo credit: Alamy