Top 3 bowling spells of Mohammed Shami in Test Cricket

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami announced his retirement from Test cricket on November 6, 2026, finishing a 13-year journey on the very anniversary of his debut. The 36-year-old seamer ends his Test career with 229 wickets from 64 matches, leaving behind a record that places him among the most effective fast bowlers India has produced.

Across those 64 Tests, Shami maintained a bowling average of 27.71 and a strike rate of 50.2, claiming six five-wicket hauls. His final Test appearance came at The Oval in the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia in June 2023, and injuries kept him away from the format thereafter. He remains available for white-ball international cricket.

These are the Top 3 bowling spells of Mohammed Shami in Test cricket:

3. 5/44 v South Africa, Centurion, Boxing Day Test, 2021

The Boxing Day Test at Centurion in 2021 gave Shami an opportunity to shine in South Africa, and he took it emphatically. Bowling 16 overs in the first innings, he returned figures of 5/44 as South Africa were dismissed for 197, handing India a crucial first-innings lead. He added 3 more wickets in the second innings, finishing with match figures of 8/107.

The Centurion spell carried additional significance because Shami reached the landmark of 200 Test wickets during the match. India went on to win by 113 runs, and the performance underlined Shami’s value in overseas conditions, where he claimed 145 wickets across 41 away Tests at an average of 30.33 across his career.

2. 9/118 v West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, November 2013

Shami walked onto the field at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in November 2013 for his Test debut at the age of 23, and immediately announced himself on the biggest stage. On a dry Kolkata surface, he generated sharp reverse swing that the West Indies batters struggled to handle, taking 4/71 in the first innings and following it with 5/47 in the second.

The combined match haul of 9/118 set a new record for the best figures by an Indian pace bowler on debut in Test cricket, surpassing what any fast bowler from the country had managed in their first Test appearance. India won the match by an innings, and Shami’s performance at Eden Gardens remained one of the most celebrated debut spells in Indian cricket history.

1. 5/28 v South Africa, Johannesburg, January 2018

At Johannesburg in January 2018, Shami produced arguably the most decisive bowling performance of his Test career. India were protecting a target of 241 runs when Shami took the ball on Day 4 and dismantled South Africa’s lower-middle order, finishing with figures of 5/28. The effort sealed a 63-run victory in the 3rd Test of the series, with Business Standard independently noting Johannesburg as one of the standout career highlights for the pacer.

Shami’s control of the ball and his ability to extract movement at pace were on full display that afternoon. The spell was not just about the wickets; it was about the precision with which he targeted the stumps and found edges when South Africa needed to bat out the day.