Ravindra Jadeja emerged as India’s hero on the opening day of the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as he claimed his second five-wicket haul in Tests in 2024. Jadeja hunted in pair alongside Washington Sundar and didn’t let the Kiwis post a big total while batting first.
Jadeja’s five-for has also helped him join an elite list of Indians who have played red-ball cricket. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler has surpassed Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma to become the fifth-leading wicket-taker for India in Test cricket.
Jadeja now has 314 wickets to his credit – three more than Ishant and Zaheer. Former leg spinner Anil Kumble is on the top of the ladder with 619 scalps whereas Jadeja’s partner in crime Ravichandran Ashwin is second on the list with 533 wickets to his credit.
Most wickets for India in Test cricket history:
| Players | Matches | Wickets | Average |
| Anil Kumble | 132 | 619 | 29.65 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 105 | 533 | 23.96 |
| Kapil Dev | 131 | 434 | 29.64 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 103 | 417 | 32.46 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 77 | 314 | 23.96 |
| Ishant Sharma | 105 | 311 | 32.40 |
| Zaheer Khan | 92 | 311 | 32.94 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 67 | 266 | 28.71 |
| BS Chandrasekhar | 58 | 242 | 29.74 |
| Javagal Srinath | 67 | 236 | 30.49 |
India’s Playing XI for the 3rd Test in Mumbai:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Bench:
Axar Patel, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah
Support Staff:
Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate, T Dilip, Morne Morkel
New Zealand’s Playing XI for the 3rd Test in Mumbai:
Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke
Bench:
Jacob Duffy, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner
Support Staff:
Gary Stead, Luke Ronchi, Shane Jurgensen