To be consistently at the top, bowling department of a team has to compliment the batting department or vice-versa, along with the level of fielding remaining consistently high. Therefore it is unsaid part that the team at the top of the rankings would have one of the best bowling line-up, if not the best.
The main focus of the Cricket fraternity was recently on India and South-Africa, as regards to who will clinch the top spot. And we know, Australia can never be kept out of any competition, thanks to the winning spirit instilled in them by Steve Waugh and very nicely carried forward by Ricky Ponting.
So taking into consideration these three teams, which are either expected or maintain the top spot in ICC Test Ranking in near future, which team has the best bowling line-up?
Let’s start with our very own India. As of current, it looks very sombre! Remove one man from the equation and it is difficult to balance it. Always a lot is expected from Zaheer Khan. If he fails to deliver or takes a beating, the situation is almost out of control for India. Sreesanth is as wayward as he always was.Praveen Kumar is unpredictable, not with his bowling, but with his performance. Ashish Nehra scripted the initial part of his comeback story very beautifully, but now he seems to be back to his old-self. Less we speak of Ishant Sharma, the better.
Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan seem to have gone into hibernation. The performance of pace battery definitely doesn’t augur too well, with World Cup coming closer. We still lack a genuine pace bowler, who can rip apart the opposition. For me, one of the best thing about cricket is to see bowlers like Dale Steyn, Brett Lee, Shoaib Akthar, Shane Bond, etc. terrorize the batsmen.
Coming to the spin department, once the forte of Indian team, now it seems to be losing its charm. Harbhajan Singh was just awful until the Eden Garden Test against SA.
Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha have shown some flashes of brilliance, but considering that they are stepping into the shoes of Anil Kumble, which are too big to fit, they can definitely afford to buy some time.

South-Africa: They have the best pace bowler in the world- Dale Steyn. And one who bowls nearly 145kmph is a genuine pace bowler. To support him, they have a 6ft 5in Morne Morkel. When he bowls, batsmen, especially shorter ones must be feeling as if the bowl is thrown by someone standing above the sight-screen. Wayne Parnell is a young lad who promises to go a long way, and also has a good pace. They have a trump card in Jacques Kallis, who can bowl as well as he can bat.
However they seem to struggle in spin department with only Paul Harris being a mentionable name. Johan Botha and RD Merwe are more of bowlers who fit into shorter forms of the game.

Australia: If someone said that Australia will go the West-Windies way once their biggies retire, they will be certainly proved wrong. They are chasing a unbeaten season, thanks to the superb bowling performance of their bowlers. A peculiar characteristic of this Australian team is that almost everyone bowls above 140kmph. Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger are going from strength to strength.
I would love to see Shaun Tait in the test side soon. His recent T-20 performance was just breath-taking. Even they have a trump card in Shane Watson. However the spin department remains a concern, though Nathan Hauritz is improving day by day.

Please do share your insights about the bowling line-ups of these teams.