Test cricket is undoubtedly amongst the toughest formats as it tests a player's temperament and his/her's ability to sustain pressure for five days. It tests a player's ability to adjust to different conditions. Test cricket is mentally as well as physically challenging for batters as well as bowlers. Test cricket has witnessed some of the finest performances from some high-class performers. In this piece, we discuss three bowlers who have bowled the most maiden overs in their test career.

The bowlers mentioned in the list have been legends of the game who went on to dominate the batters when it came to their wicket-taking abilities and their accuracy to bowl maiden overs consistently with their skilful variety and ability to adapt to different playing conditions and wickets. The bowlers mentioned in the list possessed skill sets depending on their strengths and temperament, but showcased consistency in bowling maiden overs. We discuss these bowlers in detail:

1.Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka-1794 maidens in 133 Tests)-

The 'Smiling Assassin', as he was fondly called during his playing days, was deadly with his turn, bounce and variety. Muralitharan showcased tremendous consistency with length, and his adaptability to change his length depending on a batter's strength was simply amazing. His flight was always difficult to judge. The former Sri Lankan off-spinner bowled 1794 maiden overs in 133 tests.

 The legendary off-spinner wasn't afraid to pitch the ball up even on flat batting wickets. Muralitharan made the batters work hard for runs even when the conditions favoured the batters. When Muralitharan bowled, it was difficult for a batting team to up the scoring rate due to his tight line. 

2. Shane Warne (Australia-1761 maidens in 145 Tests)-

The Late legendary spinner's sudden death due to a heart attack surprised the entire world in 2022. The late leg spinner turned the ball a long way even on batting wickets. Warne foxed the batters with his turn, googlies and flight, thus not allowing the batters to score runs easily.

Warne's accuracy and his ability to bowl in the right areas were his biggest strengths. Warne's faster ones always put the batters in two minds. He bowled 1762 maiden overs in 145 tests in his career. Warne used the popping crease cleverly, enabling him to fox the batters in the air. 

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3. James Anderson (England-1730 maidens in 188 Tests)-

The former England pacer showcased terrific consistency and longevity as far as his playing career was concerned. The 43-year-old set high standards on the field as far as his fitness was concerned. Alongside his wicket-taking abilities in different conditions, Anderson could land the ball in the good length area consistently, making him an all-time great.

Anderson's ability to swing the ball both ways with the old ball as well as the new ball made it difficult for the batting team to score easily. His length made the batters work hard for runs as his pace and bounce were difficult to judge. He bowled 1730 maiden overs in 188 test matches.

A legendary spell to conclude a legendary spinners final chapter in Test cricket. On July 22, 2010, Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan played his last ever match in the Whites. He concluded his iconic career by taking the 800th wicket, which is still today, one of a kind record in Test cricket history. 

It was match between Sri Lanka and India. India was the touring team. Muralitharan was with 792 Test wicket before the match at Galle. Came to bat first, Sri Lanka created a mountain of runs in their home ground. They declared their first innings after scoring 520 for 8 wickets. With that amount of runs, they were already top of their game. Tharanga Paranavitana  and captain Kumar Sangakkara were the two centurions in that innings. But the focus was on Muralitharan, as he was playing his career's last Test match. 

Day 2 was completely washout and By the end of day three, the spinner able to added only one wicket, which was Sachin Tendulkar's, in his record. Sri Lanka begun Day 4 with a massive advantage on the scoreboard and India under immense pressure. After claiming the wicket of Tendulkar, Muralitharan's tally was increased to 793, from there, he waved 7 more India batters with his spinn. 

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Sri Lanka won the match with absolute dominance 

Day 4 of the Test witnessed a collapsing India batting order. A total of 12 wickets, including the falls in the second innings on that single day. Among those 12, Muralitharan went to take 5 wickets. After Sachin, the spin wizard outsmarted Yuvraj Singh, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Pragyan Ojha and Abhimanyu Mithun in the first innings. During the second phase of the contest, he bagged the wickets of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha . Sri Lanka won the match by 10 wickets. Muralitharan took 8, including a 5-wicket haul in the first innings. 

"I started playing when I was 8 years old and I still listen to my coach from school days. Arjuna Ranatunga and de Silva and all those guys helped me through the tough times in 1995... always thought if something goes wrong I can bowl leg spin and continue playing cricket", the legend said this after the match. 

Cricket is a records game and there are some player who have pulled of such amazing feats in their careers that they have got name in guinness records. These records are recognized around the globe and they prove that these cricketers never let you down. Thus are some of these players who made that place by doing something truly amazing 

1) Muttiah Muralitharan -most Test Wicket
The all-time great off-spinner of Sri Lanka Muttiah Muralitharan, holds the record most number of test wickets in the Guinness World Records. He has 800 under his belt in what he has played, a record today. The biggest partcipator in turning the ball sharply, hence one of the toughest bowlers to face then and there.

•  most wickets in Test cricket:800 wickets ,Year ended: December 2010

2 AB de Villiers :First to 50, 100 and 150 in ODI
South Africa are a very aggresive, `creatively minded' team with batsman AB de Villiers leading the charge. He also holds multiple Guinness World Records for the fastest half-century, century and 150 in ODIs (One Day International)

• Quickest 50: 16 balls
• In quickest 100= 31 balls
• Quickest 150: 64
• In: February 2015 vs. West Indies
  He was fondly called "Mr. 360” because of his extreme acumen in the bat, that he could hit a ball in all possible directions.

3 Fastest t20 century & max sixes in an Innings by Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle (West Indies): another one of the dangerous T20 batters.. Gayle is a T20 batted-based powerhouse with the Guinness World Record for the fastest century in this format notching an IPL 2013 match for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in just 30 balls & not-outs to hit another Championship jumbo.

In the same game he went on to hit 17 sixes, which is another record for most sixes in a T20 Innings.

• Fastest T20 century: 30 balls (IPL 2013)
• Most sixes in one innings: 17 Sixes

4. Sachin Tendulkar: Highest International Run scorer
God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of scoring the most runs in international cricket matches, according to Guinness Book of Records.

• Most International runs: 34,357 runs
• 100 international century
• Between: 1989: 2013
  Sachin T’s records are a good example of why consistency is the greatest skill in cricket.

ALSO READ:IPL Stars Who Failed in International Cricket:Players Who Couldn't Replicate Their Success

5 MS Dhoni: Most expensive cricket bat ever sold
M.S. Dhoni: The most famous batsman for Indian cricket, cool-tempered (until he takes over from Steve Waugh), powerful finisher. The bat used by Gayle during the winning six during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final fetched ₹83 lakh ($161,295) when it was sold in an auction, the expenditure being the most ear-marked expenditure on any cricket bat worldwide TO DATE.

• Record: Most expensive bat ever sold at an auction
• Sold for: ₹83 lakh ($161,295)
• Auctioned in: 2011

The ICC Champions Trophy is all set to make a comeback after a long hiatus of eight years, with things getting kickstarted in Pakistan and UAE (solely for India matches). Starting on 19 February, it will be a wholesome treat to all the cricket fanatics as they witness the best eight teams competing for the coveted title in the white-ball format of 50 overs.

Across this timeline, we have seen over seven teams winning this trophy, and it will be interesting to see who among the eight teams will emerge victorious and triumph. As it implies, some legendary bowlers have set a benchmark in how this tournament can be one of the most precious and decisive for any cricket country's timeline. That said, here we look at the top five bowlers who have scalped the most wickets across all the ICC Champions Trophy editions.

Legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is concerned about the future of Test cricket. He feels that his 800-wicket Test cricket record is likely unbreakable.

Muttiah Muralitharan dominated world cricket for more than 25 years. Although he retired from international cricket for more than ten years, there is still no bowler to get closer to his international cricket records - most Test wickets and most ODI wickets.

In his 350 ODIs, Muralitharan took 534 wickets. Although he became the second 500-wicket taker in ODI history, after the legendary Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram, he soon broke that record and finished as the leading wicket-taker in ODI history.

Meanwhile, Muralitharan retired from Test cricket with his 800th Test wicket. In his 133 Test matches, the off-spinner took 800 Test wickets, as he was the only bowler to record more than 750 Test wickets. 

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I am definitely worried about Test cricket: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan is worried about the future of Test cricket, as most of the countries are giving less interest to this oldest format of the game.

Muralitharan said to the Daily Mail, "I am definitely worried about Test cricket. Every country will play maybe only six or seven Test matches. England and Australia might play the Ashes. But, in some other countries, not many people are watching. There will be very little Test cricket." 

While the legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne ended his Test career with 708 Test wickets, legendary English pacer James Anderson recently retired from the game after picking up 704 Test wickets. So, there are only three names in the list of 700 or more Test wickets. 

Among the active bowlers, only Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon and India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are competing with 500+ Test wickets. While Lyon has 530 wickets in 129 Tests, Ashwin has 516 wickets after 100 Tests. 

Careers are shorter now: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan feels that his record of 800 Test wickets is hard to break due to the higher importance to short-form cricket and shorter career. 

The legendary off-spinner added, "It's very hard (for someone to surpass 800 Test wickets), because emphasis has shifted to short-form cricket. Also, we played for 20 years. Careers are shorter now."

Talking more about this problem, Muralitharan pointed out a lack of steadiness due to excessive tournaments. 

Muralitharan continued, "Consistency is the problem. It's not about how good they are, because they all are talented. The only thing is how can they become experienced? Nowadays, it's difficult. There are too many tournaments and things in their heads." 

Although the ICC World Test Championship has brought some seriousness back in Test cricket, the below-ranked teams are still far away from putting this competition in their priority list.