In an era of slam-bang cricket, it has become increasingly rare to see spells of admirable bowling economy.
On this day in 1964 that Indian left-arm spinner Bapu Nadkarni bowled 21 successive maidens in an over against England at Chennai.
In that innings, he would concede just five runs from 32 overs, which remains the most economical bowling figures in an innings in the history of Test cricket.
Interestingly, despite conceding so few runs Nadkarni did not pick up a single wicket in the innings. Unsurprisingly, the match went on to end in a draw.
Here, we look at the five most economical bowling figures of all time in Test cricket (minimum 10 overs bowled).
| Rank | Bowler | Team | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | ER | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bapu Nadkarni | India | 32.0 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0.15 | England |
| 2 | Sir Garry Sobers | West Indies | 14.0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0.21 | New Zealand |
| = | Bapu Nadkarni | India | 14.0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0.21 | England |
| 4 | Majid Khan | Pakistan | 10.0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.30 | West Indies |
| = | Bob Wyatt | England | 13.0 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0.30 | South Africa |
| = | Hedley Verity | England | 13.0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0.30 | South Africa |
