Top-5 wicket-takers in Test cricket
1.Muttiah Muralitharan :-
Muralitharan is a giant performer and is in the unique position of holding the records for most wickets in One Day Internationals as well as Test matches. In fact, what Murali has done in bowling is akin to what Tendulkar has done in batting. Muttiah Muralitharan has played 133 Tests for his 800 wickets at an average of 22.72.
- Shane Warne :-
Shane Warne redefined spin bowling like never before. He brought a style quotient to slow bowling with his famous walk up to the crease and a ripping wind up action. Not only did Warne generate tremendous spin off the pitch but was also immensely accurate - a trait that is very tough for a leg-spinner to conquer. Shane Warne has played 145 Tests for his 708 wickets at an average of 25.41.
- Anil Kumble :-
Anil Kumble, an unorthodox spinner who didn't turn the ball much, was perhaps India’s greatest ever match-winner. Tall and lithe in his build, Kumble was not the quintessential, everyday spinner. He produced no lateral magic from the surface like Shane Warne did, nor did he creat ripples around the batsmen like the wily old fox, Muralitharan. Anil Kumble played 132 Tests for his 619 wickets at an average of 29.65.
- Glen McGrath :-
Glenn McGrath wasn't the quickest or the canniest ever, but in a career spanning over 14 years, he had the simplest of tool kits for menacing returns - scalping a staggering tally of 563 Test wickets to end up statistically, if not otherwise, as the greatest ever fast bowler. Glen McGrath stands 4th in the list with 563 wickets in 124 matches at an average of 21.64.
- James Anderson :-
Born in Burnley, Lancashire, James Anderson is perhaps the best swing bowler in the world at the present moment. He made his England debut in the season of 2002 and for the best part of five years till late 2007 remained in and out of the side. He produced a sensational spell in the 2003 World Cup against Pakistan that heralded his arrival, but he couldn't maintain the momentum and drifted out of the side. James Anderson, still playing, has taken 501 wickets in 129 matches at an average of 27.61.