Moeen Ali is a cricket player who belongs to the modern generation. The Englishman is known for his all-round shows in the shorter format, but over the course, Moeen Ali has done well in the red-ball version, too. England has depended on him to render balance to the XI, and on the subcontinent pitches, he is one of the first names on the team sheet.
Against India, Moeen Ali has actually done well. However, when you look at the stats, it is surprising to note that he has done better than some popular spinners against the subcontinent giants. In this article, we take a look at five famous spinners who have taken lesser wickets against Team India than Moeen Ali.
But before that, let’s dwell a moment on Moeen’s bowling stats in test cricket against India. In 13 matches so far, the Englishman has scalped 49 wickets at an average of 31.91 against the men in blue.
1. Shane Warne
Legendary spinner Shane Warne lies behind Moeen Ali in terms of performances against India. The second-highest Test wicket-taker of all-time, Warne, has 43 wickets in 14 matches against India. His achievement includes just one five-wicket haul. This shows how well Team India has tackled the threat of Shane Warne. Be it in India or in Australia, the Indian team has done pretty well against the mighty Australian.
2. Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann is one of the English spinner, who had an impact despite having a short career. He has done well against almost every other opposition, but when it comes to bowling to the Indian batsmen, Swann’s achievements are lesser than that of Moeen.
In 10 matches that were spread over four years, Swann has picked 41 Indian wickets. These scalps came at an average of 32.68 and a strike rate of 62.6. Maybe if Swann had a longer career, he surely would have had better numbers against the Indians.
3. Abdul Qadir
One of the pioneers of leg-spin bowling, Abdul Qadir’s stats are also surprisingly pale compared to Moeen against India. In 16 games, the Pakistan player was able to collect just 27 wickets against the arch-rivals. In all these encounters, the man from Lahore could not achieve a single five-wicket haul. His best performance in an innings was 4/67. The average, 51.1, was also on a slightly disappointing side.
4. Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori is probably the best spinner that New Zealand has seen. A man who produced exceptional displays across formats, Vettori also made a mark in Test Cricket. Despite playing most of his cricket on pure green tracks, the fact that he is one of the highest wicket-takers in Test Cricket speaks volumes about his skills.
However, in his attempts against India, the Kiwi’s success has not been worth mentioning. In 15 encounters, Vettori’s wickets column against India reads 40. There were innings in which he picked six wickets, and that was the only memorable performance of Vettori against the Indians.
5. Rangana Herath
After the likes of M Muralitharan retired, many wondered as to how would the spin-bowling of Sri Lanka progress. However, Rangana Herath almost brought in a situation wherein very few missed Murali. He picked wickets regularly and helped Sri Lankan cricket stay afloat.
That said, against India, Rangana Herath has not exactly set the stage of fire. It has to be noted that Herath played against India on the subcontinent matches where spinners taking the chunk of wickets is a written fact. In this scenario, his record of 33 wickets in 11 games is a lot less compared to Moeen Ali.
