Simon Harmer’s 17 wickets during South Africa’s recent tour of India were the latest in a line of crucial contributions by visiting spinners
Omkar Mankame27-Nov-2025
Simon Harmer
Harmer outbowled India’s spinners by a distance on a tour that redeemed him after his difficult 2015 visit, which had pushed him into a seven-year Test exile. No bowler has taken more wickets at a better average in a Test series in India than his 17 scalps at 8.94. On a raging turner in Kolkata, he sliced through the middle order to prevent India from chasing 124. In Guwahati, he extracted sharp turn and bounce to secure his first five-for in India.
Mitchell Santner
In his only Test of the series, Santner engineered one of the most stunning results in modern Test cricket — winning a Test series in India. Brought in after New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in Bengaluru, the left-arm spinner claimed 13 wickets, including his maiden Test five-for, in the historic triumph. His method relied on subtle changes of pace, often dipping below 87kph to extract greater grip and purchase than India’s own spinners.Related
-
Harmer flips Test cricket in India upside down
-
South Africa prove again they can win the hard way, and anywhere
-
India's Test debacle: outbowled, outbatted and out-tossed too
Ajaz Patel
With Santner absent, Ajaz Patel — having an ordinary series thus far — rediscovered his 2021 magic to seal a 3-0 whitewash in the city of his birth. After lunch on day two, he found his rhythm, bowling a teasing length that forced India’s batters forward without letting them reach the ball adequately. In the second innings, he led New Zealand’s defence of 147 with figures of 6 for 57, including the crucial dismissal of Rishabh Pant, who had threatened to take the game away.
Tom Hartley
Hartley’s Test career began in chaos — two sixes in his first over and bruising figures of 2 for 131 off 25 overs in the first innings. However, he used his high release point to prodigious effect in the second innings: he constantly unsettled seasoned Indian batters and collected 7 for 62, rounding off England’s remarkable comeback win after conceding a 190-run lead.Tom Hartley’s selection was vindicated when he delivered a seven-for against India’s experienced line-up•BCCI
Steve O’Keefe
India hadn’t lost a home Test since 2012, but a three-day defeat in Pune ended that streak. O’Keefe’s twin hauls of 6 for 35 skittled India for 105 and 107, their lowest totals in a home Test defeat. In the first innings, three of his wickets came via outside edges, and one through a stumping. In the second, five of his six dismissals came from attacking the stumps, resulting in bowled or lbws. Australia won by 333 runs.
Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann
After a nine-wicket loss in Ahmedabad, England brought Panesar back in the XI. He responded with a memorable ten-wicket haul in Mumbai, including the twin scalps of Sachin Tendulkar. Panesar and Swann combined for 37 wickets at 25.70, outbowling R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, who took 34 at 39.82. Backed by a strong batting effort, the spinners were crucial to England securing their first series win in India in 28 years.
Nicky Boje
Playing just his second Test, the left-arm spinner delivered a match-shaping all-round performance to seal South Africa’s maiden Test series win in India. Sent in as a nightwatcher, he frustrated India with a gritty 85. His confidence carried into the bowling innings, where he removed India’s top three and added two more lower-order wickets to complete a decisive five-for.
Saqlain Mushtaq
At the peak of his powers, Saqlain dominated this unforgettable two-Test series. In Chennai, he won the decisive battle against Sachin Tendulkar, as India fell 12 runs short. In Delhi, he took his second ten-wicket match haul in the running, though Kumble’s iconic 10 for 74 overshadowed it. Across four successive five-fors, Saqlain’s doosra repeatedly deceived the likes of Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly — some of the finest batters against spin.
