Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson picked up five wickets each to bundle Pakistan out for 171 runs in the Headingley Test on Wednesday, August 19. That and 12 other instances from this century when two bowlers took five wickets each in the same Test innings.
Two bowlers, two five-fors, one Test innings
1. Jason Gillespie and Colin Miller,Australia vs West Indies, Adelaide, December 2000
Gillespie and Miller picked up five wickets each in the first innings of the Adelaide Test against the West Indies. While Gillespie sent the top order packing, Miller spun a web around the lower order and also dismissed Brian Lara, who scored 182. Australia eventually won the Test by five wickets, chasing down 130 in the fourth innings.
2. Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka vsSouth Africa, Durban, December 2000
Fernando and Muralitharan joined hands in the Boxing Day Test of 2000 to dismiss all South Africa batters between themselves at Kingsmead in Durban. With little support from the other bowlers, the duo shared the spoils equally, even as the hosts amassed 420 runs on the back of Gary Kirsten’s stunning 180. The Test match ended in a draw.
3. Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Galle, January 2002
Sri Lanka spinners Muralitharan and Jayasuriya didn’t let any of the Zimbabwe batters get away in the first innings, picking up a five-for each. It was a heroic effort as Murali sent down 58.3 overs, conceding only 67 runs for his five wickets, while Jayasuriya returned with figures of 5-43 in his 29 overs. Sri Lanka won the Test match by 315 runs.
4. Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria, Pakistan vs Australia, Melbourne, December 2004
Another pace-spin duo features on this list as Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria picked up all 10 wickets against Australia in the Boxing Day Test of 2004 at the iconic MCG. After Pakistan posted 341 runs in the first innings, Akhtar and Kaneria took it upon themselves to run through the Australian line-up and limit their lead to only 38 runs by dismissing the hosts for 379. But Pakistan collapsed to 163 runs in the second innings and Australia ended up chasing down the 126-run target with nine wickets in hand.
5. Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini, South Africa vs New Zealand, Centurion, April 2006
Steyn and Ntini were at their best in the fourth innings of the Centurion Test against New Zealand. They skittled the Blackcaps for just 120 runs in their second essay while picking up 5-47 and 5-51, respectively. Notably, the two fast bowlers bowled 31 out of the 36 overs in the innings to rattle New Zealand batters as South Africa won by 128 runs.
6. Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar, England vs Pakistan, Manchester, July 2006
Harmison and Panesar tormented Pakistan in the Old Trafford Test of the 2006 summer. The two bowlers picked up 19 of the 20 Pakistan wickets to fall in the game, while the remaining dismissal came via run-out in the first innings. The duo shared 10 wickets equally in the second innings, skittling the visitors for 222 runs. Their spell helped England win by an innings and 120 runs.
7. Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh vs India, Chattogram, January 2010
Bangladesh dominated India in the first innings of Chattogram Test, thanks to Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan. Both bowlers finished with five wickets each to bundle India out for only 243 runs. However, the visitors bounced back superbly in the second innings to win the Test by 113 runs.
8. Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah, Pakistan vs New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, November 2018
Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah teamed up to pick up five wickets each against New Zealand. The Kiwis collapsed from 220-4 to 249 all out as Hasan finished with 5-45 while Yasir picked up five scalps for 110 runs. Pakistan were set a target of 176 runs, but they collapsed from 130-3 to 171 all out to lose the Test by four runs.
9. Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, New Zealand vs West Indies, Wellington, December 2020
West Indies batters had no answers to Southee and Jamieson’s vicious bowling at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. They returned with figures of 5-32 and 5-34, respectively, to bowl out the opposition for 131 in their first innings. Following on, West Indies put up an improved effort in their second essay, but eventually lost the Test by an innings and 12 runs.
10. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, India vs England, Ahmedabad, March 2021
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad witnessed England capitulate in their second essay for just 135 runs. Ashwin and Axar weaved their magic around the opposition batters to scalp a five-for each as India registered a win by an innings and 25 runs.
11. Shaheen Afridi and Nauman Ali, Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Harare, May 2021
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Nauman Ali bowled 41 overs between them to dismiss all Zimbabwe batters in the second innings of the Harare Test. The duo shared the spoils to finish with figures of 5-52 and 5-86, respectively, as Pakistan won by an innings and 147 runs.
12. Lasith Embuldeniya and Ramesh Mendis, Sri Lanka vs West Indies, Galle, November 2021
Embuldeniya and Mendis tormented the West Indies on the fifth and final day of the Galle Test in 2021. The duo left the opposition batters clueless with their spin bowling to finish with figures of 5-35 and 6-66, respectively. Sri Lanka won by 164 runs as the West Indies were bundled out for just 132 runs.
13. Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue, England vs Pakistan, Leeds, August 2026
It took almost five years for two bowlers to pick up five wickets in the same innings of a Test match again. Tongue and Robinson enjoyed bowling in helpful conditions on Day 1 of the Headingley Test against Pakistan. Robinson took care of the top-order batters while Tongue ran through the tail to register five-fors as Pakistan were bundled out for 171.
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