Taking all 10 wickets in a single innings is the "Holy Grail" of bowling. It is a feat of endurance, skill, and incredible fortune that is rarer than a triple century in batting. In the long and storied history of Indian domestic cricket (dating back nearly a century), only six bowlers have ever managed to claim a "Perfect 10" on Indian soil in a First-Class (FC) match.
From legendary spinners to modern pacers, here is the complete chronicle of these historic performances.
The first Indian to achieve this milestone was one of the finest leg-spinners the game has ever seen, Subhash Gupte. Before Shane Warne or Anil Kumble, Gupte was the master of flight and turn.
Playing for Bombay against a touring Pakistan Combined Services side, Gupte spun a web around the visitors. He bowled 24.2 overs of mesmerizing leg-spin to dismiss the entire opposition for 165. His figures of 10 for 78 were the first of their kind on Indian soil, setting a benchmark that would stand for nearly two years.
Just two seasons after Gupte's heroics, Bengal’s left-arm medium pacer Premangsu Chatterjee produced what remains the most economical 10-wicket haul in Indian history.
In a Ranji Trophy match against Assam, Chatterjee was unplayable. On a surface that assisted seam movement, he wrecked the Assam lineup, bowling them out for a paltry total. He finished with the astonishing figures of 10 wickets for just 20 runs, a record for the best bowling figures in an innings in the Ranji Trophy that still stands today.
It took nearly 29 years for the feat to be repeated. Pradeep Sundaram, a fast bowler for Rajasthan, etched his name in history during a Ranji Trophy encounter against Vidarbha.
Sundaram’s performance was a display of relentless accuracy and stamina. He bowled 22 overs unchanged to dismantle the Vidarbha batting lineup. Interestingly, his figures of 10/78 were an exact match of Subhash Gupte's record from 1954. His effort helped Rajasthan secure a dominant position in the match and remains the only 10-wicket haul by a Rajasthan bowler.
The most famous "Perfect 10" in history. While this was a Test match, it is technically also a First-Class fixture, making Kumble the only bowler on this list to achieve the feat in international cricket.
Facing arch-rivals Pakistan, India needed to defend a target of 420 on a crumbling Delhi pitch. Pakistan had started well, reaching 101/0, when Kumble was introduced. In a spell of bowling that is now folklore, he ran through the Pakistani lineup single-handedly. From Shahid Afridi to Wasim Akram, every single batsman fell to his flippers and leg-breaks. He finished with 10/74, becoming only the second bowler in Test history (after Jim Laker) to take all 10 wickets in an innings.
Debashish Mohanty, known for his unique bowling action and swing, achieved his feat in the Duleep Trophy, a zonal First-Class tournament.
Playing for the East Zone against a star-studded South Zone lineup (which included Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman), Mohanty produced the spell of his life. On a green top in Agartala, he utilized the conditions perfectly to bowl the South Zone out for just 113. His figures of 10/46 included the prized scalps of some of India’s greatest Test batters, proving that this was no fluke against a weak side.
The latest entrant to this exclusive club is young Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj. In November 2024, playing at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli, a venue historically known for aiding pacers, Kamboj delivered a masterclass.
Across two days, he dismantled the Kerala batting order. He ended Day 2 with eight wickets and returned the next morning to claim the final two, finishing with 10/49. His performance was historic not just for the numbers, but for the quality of the opposition in the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy.
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