List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Muttiah Muralitharan

In cricket, a five-wicket haul—also known as a five–for or fifer—refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement; only eleven bowlers have taken more than 30 five-wicket hauls in their Test cricketing careers. Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket, and also the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls in One Day Internationals (ODI). He did not take any five-wicket hauls in a Twenty20 International, where his best bowling figures were 3 wickets for 29 runs. One of the most experienced bowlers in international cricket, Muralitharan is the leading wicket taker in both Tests and ODIs. He was declared as the "best bowler ever" in Test cricket by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002, and the Sri Lankan team depended heavily on the off spinner for wickets.

Muralitharan is well ahead of other bowlers by number of five-wicket hauls in Tests with 67 to his name; Australian cricketer Shane Warne ranks in second place with 37. Making his Test debut in 1992, Muralitharan took his first five-wicket haul a year later against South Africa. He performed this feat against every other Test playing nation. He went on to take ten or more wickets per match on 22 occasions—also a world record—while Shane Warne ranks second, having achieved this on 10 occasions. His career best is 9 wickets for 51 runs against Zimbabwe, which ranks as the world's fifth-best figures in an innings. He was most successful against Bangladesh and South Africa, with 11 five-wicket hauls against each team. Fourteen of Muralitharan's five-wicket hauls were taken at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He retired from Test cricket in July 2010, capturing his 67th and final five-wicket haul during his last match.

In ODIs, Muralitharan is ranked second in number of five-wicket hauls to Pakistani cricketer Waqar Younis. He played his first ODI in 1993, and took his first ODI five-wicket haul in 1998 against Pakistan. He repeated this performance against seven different opponents. His career best of 7 wickets for 30 runs is the fourth-best bowling figures in ODI history.

Key

Symbol Meaning DateDay the Test started or ODI held InnInnings in which five-wicket haul was taken OversNumber of overs bowled RunsNumber of runs conceded WktsNumber of wickets taken EconRuns conceded per over BatsmenBatsmen whose wickets were taken ResultResult for the Sri Lanka team One of two five-wicket hauls by Muralitharan in a match 10 or more wickets taken in the match Muralitharan was selected as man of the match

Tests + Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Muttiah Muralitharan No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts EconBatsmen Result 1 Tyronne Fernando Stadium, Moratuwa Kepler Wessels Hansie Cronje Jonty Rhodes Pat Symcox Clive Eksteen Drawn 2 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Kepler Wessels Daryll Cullinan Brian McMillan Dave Richardson Brett Schultz Lost 3 K.D. Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow Navjot Singh Sidhu Sanjay Manjrekar Kapil Dev Nayan Mongia Rajesh Chauhan Lost 4 McLean Park, Napier Bryan Young Mark Greatbatch Stephen Fleming Shane Thomson Adam Parore Won 5 Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Saeed Anwar Aamer Sohail Saqlain Mushtaq Moin Khan Aaqib Javed Won 6 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Grant Flower Alistair Campbell Andy Flower Paul Strang Andrew Whittall Won 7 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Ijaz Ahmed Inzamam-ul-Haq Asif Mujtaba Moin Khan Mushtaq Ahmed Shahid Nazir Drawn 8 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's Carl Hooper Courtney Browne Ian Bishop Franklyn Rose Courtney Walsh Lost 9 The Playing Fields, Kingstown Stuart Williams Roland Holder Ian Bishop Courtney Browne Courtney Walsh Drawn 10 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Grant Flower Craig Wishart Paul Strang Heath Streak Bryan Strang Won 11 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Gavin Rennie Murray Goodwin Andrew Whittall Andy Flower Craig Wishart Paul Strang Adam Huckle Won 12 Centurion Park, Centurion Gary Kirsten Hansie Cronje Shaun Pollock Mark Boucher Allan Donald Lost 13 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Brian Young Craig McMillan Chris Cairns Daniel Vettori Paul Wiseman Lost 14 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Brian Young Craig Spearman Nathan Astle Craig McMillan Daniel Vettori Won 15 The Oval, Kennington Steve James Mark Ramprakash Ben Hollioake Dominic Cork Ian Salisbury Darren Gough Angus Fraser Won 16 The Oval, Kennington Mark Butcher Steve James Graeme Hick Mark Ramprakash John Crawley Ben Hollioake Dominic Cork Ian Salisbury Darren Gough Won 17 Galle International Stadium, Galle Michael Slater Greg Blewett Justin Langer Mark Waugh Ian Healy Drawn 18 Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar Shahid Afridi Inzamam-ul-Haq Mohammad Yousuf Abdul Razzaq Waqar Younis Arshad Khan Won 19 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Saeed Anwar Younis Khan Mohammad Yousuf Waqar Younis Mushtaq Ahmed Lost 20 Galle International Stadium, Galle Gary Kirsten Neil McKenzie Jacques Kallis Jonty Rhodes Mark Boucher Shaun Pollock Won 21 Galle International Stadium, Galle Daryll Cullinan Lance Klusener Mark Boucher Shaun Pollock Nicky Boje Paul Adams Makhaya Ntini Won 22 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Gary Kirsten Daryll Cullinan Jonty Rhodes Lance Klusener Mark Boucher Drawn 23 Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban Daryll Cullinan Neil McKenzie Mark Boucher Lance Klusener Nicky Boje Drawn 24 Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban Boeta Dippenaar Gary Kirsten Jacques Kallis Shaun Pollock Mark Boucher Neil McKenzie Drawn 25 Galle International Stadium, Galle Mohammad Kaif Hemang Badani Sameer Dighe Harbhajan Singh Venkatesh Prasad Won 26 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Shiv Sunder Das Sadagoppan Ramesh Rahul Dravid Sourav Ganguly Hemang Badani Sameer Dighe Sairaj Bahutule Zaheer Khan Won 27 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Al Sahariar Naimur Rahman Mohammad Ashraful Khaled Mashud Hasibul Hossain Won 28 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Javed Omar Mehrab Hossain Habibul Bashar Khaled Mashud Mohammad Sharif Won 29 Galle International Stadium, Galle Ramnaresh Sarwan Brian Lara Carl Hooper Marlon Samuels Neil McGarrell Colin Stuart Won 30 Galle International Stadium, Galle Ramnaresh Sarwan Marlon Samuels Ridley Jacobs Mervyn Dillon Colin Stuart Won 31 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Daren Ganga Ramnaresh Sarwan Marlon Samuels Mervyn Dillon Pedro Collins Colin Stuart Won 32 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Hamilton Masakadza Trevor Gripper Stuart Carlisle Gavin Rennie Andy Flower Grant Flower Craig Wishart Heath Streak Dougie Marillier Won 33 Galle International Stadium, Galle Stuart Carlisle Andy Flower Grant Flower Travis Friend Henry Olonga Won 34 Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham Michael Vaughan Mark Butcher Nasser Hussain Alec Stewart Andrew Flintoff Lost 35 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Habibul Bashar Aminul Islam Khaled Mashud Enamul Haque Alamgir Kabir Won 36 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Al Sahariar Habibul Bashar Akram Khan Aminul Islam Manjural Islam Rana Won 37 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Matt Horne Mathew Sinclair Jacob Oram Daniel Vettori Daryl Tuffey Drawn 38 Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet Chris Gayle Ramnaresh Sarwan Marlon Samuels Ridley Jacobs Corey Collymore Drawn 39 Galle International Stadium, Galle Marcus Trescothick Michael Vaughan Paul Collingwood Andrew Flintoff Chris Read Ashley Giles Richard Johnson Drawn 40 Galle International Stadium, Galle Matthew Hayden Darren Lehmann Andrew Symonds Adam Gilchrist Michael Kasprowicz Stuart MacGill Lost 41 Galle International Stadium, Galle Matthew Hayden Damien Martyn Darren Lehmann Andrew Symonds Shane Warne Lost 42 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Adam Gilchrist Damien Martyn Andrew Symonds Shane Warne Jason Gillespie Lost 43 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Darren Lehmann Simon Katich Adam Gilchrist Shane Warne Jason Gillespie Lost 44 Harare Sports Club, Harare Tatenda Taibu Alester Maregwede Mluleki Nkala Prosper Utseya Blessing Mahwire Douglas Hondo Won 45 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Sylvester Joseph Denesh Ramdin Omari Banks Daren Powell Tino Best Jermaine Lawson Won 46 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Ryan Ramdass Runako Morton Sylvester Joseph Narsingh Deonarine Denesh Ramdin Omari Banks Daren Powell Tino Best Won 47 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Shahriar Nafees Mohammad Ashraful Tushar Imran Aftab Ahmed Mohammad Rafique Enamul Haque Jr Won 48 Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Rahul Dravid VVS Laxman Sachin Tendulkar Sourav Ganguly MS Dhoni Irfan Pathan Harbhajan Singh Lost 49 Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong Shahriar Nafees Mohammad Ashraful Khaled Mashud Alok Kapali Mohammad Rafique Enamul Haque Jr Won 50 Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Bogra Javed Omar Nafees Iqbal Habibul Bashar Mushfiqur Rahim Syed Rasel Won 51 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Kamran Akmal Mohammad Yousuf Faisal Iqbal Abdul Razzaq Danish Kaneria Lost 52 Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham Marcus Trescothick Alastair Cook Kevin Pietersen Paul Collingwood Geraint Jones Liam Plunkett Lost 53 Trent Bridge, Nottingham Marcus Trescothick Andrew Strauss Alastair Cook Kevin Pietersen Paul Collingwood Andrew Flintoff Geraint Jones Jon Lewis Won 54 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Andrew Hall Ashwell Prince AB de Villiers Herschelle Gibbs André Nel Dale Steyn Won 55 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Hashim Amla Ashwell Prince Mark Boucher Dale Steyn Makhaya Ntini Won 56 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Herschelle Gibbs Ashwell Prince AB de Villiers Mark Boucher Shaun Pollock Nicky Boje Dale Steyn Won 57 Basin Reserve, Wellington Craig Cumming Mathew Sinclair Nathan Astle Brendon McCullum Daniel Vettori James Franklin Won 58 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Rajin Saleh Shakib Al Hasan Mashrafe Mortaza Mohammad Rafique Abdur Razzak Won 59 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Shahriar Nafees Rajin Saleh Mashrafe Mortaza Mohammad Rafique Shahadat Hossain Syed Rasel Won 60 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Shahriar Nafees Habibul Bashar Mohammad Ashraful Mashrafe Mortaza Shahadat Hossain Syed Rasel Won 61 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy Michael Vaughan Ian Bell Kevin Pietersen Paul Collingwood Ravi Bopara Matthew Hoggard Won 62 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Michael Vaughan Ian Bell Matthew Prior Ryan Sidebottom Steve Harmison Drawn 63 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain Ramnaresh Sarwan Marlon Samuels Devon Smith Denesh Ramdin Daren Powell Lost 64 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Gautam Gambhir Sachin Tendulkar Sourav Ganguly Dinesh Karthik Harbhajan Singh Won 65 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Gautam Gambhir Virender Sehwag Sachin Tendulkar Sourav Ganguly Dinesh Karthik Anil Kumble Won 66 Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Mirpur Tamim Iqbal Junaid Siddique Shakib Al Hasan Mashrafe Mortaza Shahadat Hossain Mahbubul Alam Won 67 Galle International Stadium, Galle Sachin Tendulkar Yuvraj Singh MS Dhoni Pragyan Ojha Abhimanyu Mithun Won

One Day Internationals

+ Five-wicket hauls in ODIs by Muttiah Muralitharan No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts EconBatsmen Result 1 Willowmoore Park, Benoni Saeed Anwar Azhar Mahmood Wasim Akram Rashid Latif Waqar Younis Won 2 Lord's, London Nick Knight Mike Atherton Alec Stewart Ali Brown Nasser Hussain Won 3 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Gary Kirsten Andrew Hall Nicky Boje Lance Klusener Shaun Pollock Won 4 Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah Sachin Tendulkar Robin Singh Vinod Kambli Yuvraj Singh Hemang Badani Vijay Dahiya Sunil Joshi Won 5 McLean Park, Napier Roger Twose Adam Parore Daniel Vettori Andrew Penn Chris Martin Won 6 Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah Chris Nevin Stephen Fleming Scott Styris Chris Harris