1. Kumble's 10 for 74 against Pakistan at New Delhi in 1999
Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul came in the innings of the match after good batting by Indian batsmen had left Pakistan to score 420 to win. Victory for Pakistan was never on the cards, nor a 10-wicket haul for a bowler. Pakistan reached a comfortable 101 for no loss when Kumble took his first wicket. Then, in a 19 over spell, either side of the tea break, Kumble took the next nine wickets with some outstanding spin bowling using the turn and bounce very effectively. India ran out easy winners. This must rank equals with Laxman's 281 as two definitive moments in Indian Cricket history.
Kumble is in second place in the all time top 10 bowling analysis table, behind Tayfield's match winning 9 for 102. Only the fact that India (and Kumble) was never under any pressure in view of the imposing target has prevented this analysis from being the first in the list. Tayfield was under far greater pressure than Kumble.
2. Harbhajan Singh's 8 for 84 against Australia at Chennai in 2001
After the turn-around at Calcutta, this was a needle test. India had a first innings lead of 110 when Australia went in. But it was obvious that any chase of 150+ was going to be difficult. So Australia had to be dismissed for not many above 250. Harbhajan did exactly that. Mixing his sharply turning off spinners, straight deliveries, and top judiciously he took 8 for 84 dismissing Australia for 264. The ball that dismissed Steve Waugh must remain as one of the defining moments in Indian Cricket scene. India won by two wickets and the margin of win adds value to Harbhajan's wonderful spell.
3. Kapil Dev's 7 for 56 against Pakistan at Madras (Chennai) in 1980
India had a comfortable lead of 168 in the first innings. However, this was no ordinary batting line up, led by Miandad. It was necessary to strike early, which Kapil did. He dismissed the openers before 20 was reached and then dismissed Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal. He maintained sustained pressure and took 7 for 56 on a not very helpful Chapauk wicket. India was left to score only 78 runs. This win gave India the series win, a great achievement considering the fact that India has won a series against Pakistan since then.
4. Kapil Dev's 8 for 85 against Pakistan at Lahore in 1983
This analysis finds a place despite this being a no contest even two innings having been completed. The reason was the quality of Pakistan batting, the quality of wickets taken by Kapil and the nature of pitch which was in reality a very good batting wicket. For the record, Kapil bowled 30 overs and took 8 wickets conceding only a quarter of the runs conceded by India.
5. Hirwani's 8 for 75 against West Indies at Madras (Chennai) in 1988
This was the second half of Hirwani's 8 wicket double at Madras (Chennai). West Indies, chasing 415 runs, was dismissed for 160, India winning by over 250 runs. Hirwani took 16 wickets on his test debut equaling Massie's feat a decade ago.
There was nothing much to choose between the two bowling analysis. The reason this spell comes out ahead of the other is because it is in the fourth innings and Hirwani dismissed Richards for 4. Also he took one less low order wicket in this innings.
The sixth best bowling analysis was Jasu Patel's match winning spell of 9 for 69 against Australia at Kanpur in 1959.
The seventh best was Prasanna's 8 for 76 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1968. This win led to India's first ever series win abroad.
The eight best was Mankad's 8 for 55 against England at Madras (Chennai) in 1952. This was India's first ever test win, albeit against a depleted English team.
The ninth best was Gupte's 9 for 102 against West Indies at Kanpur in 1959. Even though India lost the match, Gupte's classic leg spin bowling cannot be forgotten.
The tenth best was Harbhajan Singh's 7 for 123 against Australia at Calcutta in 2001. This include the first ever hat trick by an Indian bowler. At that time this seemed to be a futile effort. Subsequent events have shown the value of this spell.
