3 bowlers who have dismissed left-handers most times in Test cricket

While no wicket comes easy in international cricket, the task becomes sterner in the longest format of the game. The red cherry may provide more assistance than the white ball but the dynamics of the game make bowlers’ job challenging. Unlike limited-over matches, batters don’t need to be concerned much about the scoring rate. Hence, bowlers truly need to earn wickets in the purest version of the game.

Meanwhile, bowling to left-handers is a different challenge altogether. As per several researches and surveys, over 70 per cent of humans are right-handed. Hence, bowlers don’t get to play against many southpaws in their early days. However, in international cricket, the best batters from a nation are in action which also includes the best of left-handers. Hence, several bowlers tend to struggle against them in finding in right light and length. On the contrary, certain bowlers also enjoy this challenge.

Meanwhile, let’s look at 3 bowlers who have dismissed left-handers most times in Test cricket:

3. Muttiah Muralitharan – 191

As per popular belief, off-spinners are more effective against southpaws in comparison to right-handed batters. However, Muralitharan’s numbers in Test cricket don’t suggest the same. The Sri Lankan great took 800 wickets in Test cricket and only 191 were left-handers. This stat also speaks a lot about the ratio of left and right-handed batters. Meanwhile, Muralitharan’s ability to spin the ball away was arguably the biggest nemesis for southpaws. 

2. James Anderson – 196

The most successful pacer and third-most successful overall in Test cricket, James Anderson stands second on this list and one shouldn’t be surprised. The right-arm pacer can swing the ball both ways and that too at a brisk pace. Owing to the same, he has given a tough time to many left-handed batters. Coming to his tally, 196 of Anderson’s 640 Test dismissals are of left-handers.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin – 220

The only bowler with over 200 dismissals of left-handers in Tests, Ravichandran Ashwin tops the list. From Alastair Cook to David Warner and Ben Stokes, the off-spinner has tormented many prominent left-handers. In fact, his record against southpaws is better than that of right-handers. While Ashwin has 220 wickets of left-handers in the longest format, he accounted for right-handers 216 times.