Test cricket has shifted towards bowler domination in recent times. This has brought in multiple brilliant bowling innings. We will now have a look at the best bowling figures by bowlers in tests since 2020.

10. Rashid Khan (2021)

This match was the final match of the two-match series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan lost the previous match. In this game though, Afghanistan managed to get a 258-run lead in the first innings. Afghanistan enforced follow-on, and Zimbabwe started fighting back in their second innings. Rashid Khan bowled and stayed at one end for almost the entire innings, and after long, arduous efforts, he managed to bowl out Zimbabwe. He bowled 62.5 overs in the innings.

Rashid Khan had bowling figures of 7-137 in the innings.

9. Lasith Embuldeniya (2021)

This match was the second match in the test series in the England tour of Sri Lanka. England had won the previous match. Sri Lanka batted first and scored 381. England batted next, and Joe Root was scoring big, though alone. In bowling, Lasith Embuldeniya was constantly picking wickets, and Sri Lanka managed to restrict England to 344.

Lasith Embuldeniya had bowling figures of 7-137 in the innings.

8. Taijul Islam (2021)

This was the first match in the test series in the Pakistan tour of Bangladesh. Bangladesh scored 330 in the first innings, and Pakistan batted next. Pakistan had an opening partnership of 146, which was broken by Taijul Islam. He continued taking wickets throughout the innings as Bangladesh restricted Pakistan to 286.

Taijul Islam had bowling figures of 7-116 in the innings.

7. Sikandar Raza (2020)

This match had Zimbabwe batting first against Sri Lanka. They scored 406. In reply, Sri Lanka was going strong at 94-0, when Sikandar Raza struck the first blow. He continued taking wickets and finished by taking seven wickets in the innings. Zimbabwe restricted Sri Lanka to just 293.

Sikandar Raza had bowling figures of 7-116 in the innings.

6. Shardul Thakur (2022)

This game was the second test in the India tour of South Africa. South Africa took the lead at the end of the first innings, but Shardul Thakur took seven wickets and managed to keep the lead slender.

Shardul Thakur had bowling figures of 7-61 in this innings.

5. Keshav Maharaj (2022)

Bangladesh toured South Africa for a two-match test series. This was the second match of the series, with South Africa having won the first one. The pitches in this series were spin-friendly, which was very uncharacteristic of South African pitches, especially because they had just recently hosted India, and the pitches were highly resistant to spin. The turning tracks in this series helped Keshav Maharaj accumulate a lot of wickets. South Africa set Bangladesh, a target of 413. Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer together bowled as a single partnership, and wiped away Bangladesh for 80.

Keshav Maharaj had bowling figures of 7-40 in this innings.

4. Keshav Maharaj (2022)

This game was the first match of the same South Africa vs Bangladesh series discussed previously. The second game, more or less, had the same story as this one. South Africa batted first, and scored 367. Bangladesh got bowled out for 298. South Africa ended up with a lead of 69. South Africa batted again and scored 204. Hence Bangladesh now faced a target of 274. Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer together bowled as a single partnership and wiped away Bangladesh for 53.

Keshav Maharaj had bowling figures of 7-32 in this innings.

3. Matt Henry (2022)

New Zealand hosted South Africa for a two-test series, and this match was the first match of the series. New Zealand was in poor form, as they had lost a test match against Bangladesh recently. They had to perform well in this match. South Africa batted first. New Zealand rolled them out for 95 with the help of Matt Henry’s splendid bowling.

Matt Henry had bowling figures of 7-23 in this innings.

2. Sajid Khan (2021)

Pakistan was touring Bangladesh in this series. In this match, rain consumed a lot of time, and Pakistan finished batting first, scoring 300. By then, there were only about four sessions remaining in the match. The match seemed to be a certain draw, when Sajid Khan produced a brilliant bowling performance, bowling out Bangladesh for 87 and helping Pakistan enforce the follow-on. Pakistan eventually won the match by an innings and 8 runs.

Sajid Khan had bowling figures of 8-42 in this innings.

1. Ajaz Patel (2021)

Ajaz Patel is a New Zealand spinner. When New Zealand toured India, they managed to draw the first match. In the second match, no bowler seemed to have the capacity to take wickets except Ajaz. He took all the ten wickets in the first innings and became the third bowler after Jim Laker and Anil Kumble to take ten wickets in an innings.

Ajaz Patel had bowling figures of 10-119 in this innings.