BS Chandrasekhar still holds the record of most wickets by an Indian in a Test series (14th May 2001)

Harbhajan Singh's feat of taking 32 wickets in three Tests in the last series against Australia is a remarkable achievement. But after almost 30 years, the Indian record of most wickets in a series is still held by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar who in the five match contest against England at home in 1972-73, took 35 wickets.

Given the Englishman's vulnerability against leg spin-googly bowling, it was always on the cards that Chandra would prove to be their main tormentor even with the likes of Bedi, Prasanna and Venkatraghavan around. Moreover his confidence level was high after his six for 38 spell at the Oval in 1971 which opened the floodgates for India to record a historic win that gave them the series for the first time in England.

Chandra did not take long to weave his web around the tangled feet of the English batsmen. In the first innings of the series he took eight for 79, the best analysis in his 58-match Test career. He took only one wicket in the second innings as England coasted to a surprise six wicket victory. But he helped shape the successive triumphs at Calcutta and Madras by taking nine and seven wickets respectively. In the process he took his 100th wicket in his 22nd Test. A bag of four wickets in the only innings in the fourth Test at Kanpur brought up his tally to 29 and the long standing Indian record of 34 wickets in a series that Vinoo Mankad had held since 1952, also against England, had now come into focus. Taking five wickets in England's first innings in the final Test at Bombay, Chandra equalled Mankad's record and in the brief 90-minute England second innings, he bowled Alan Knott to take his tally to the record breaking 35 (Avg 18.91).

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