In cricket, a five-wicket haul—also known as a five–for or fifer^[1]—refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement;^[2] only five bowlers have taken more than 30 five-wicket hauls in their Test cricketing careers.^[3] Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket,^[3] and also the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls in One Day Internationals (ODI).^[4] He did not take any five-wicket hauls in a Twenty20 International,^[5] where his best bowling figures were 3 wickets for 29 runs.^[6] One of the most experienced bowlers in international cricket, Muralitharan is the leading wicket taker in both Tests^[7] and ODIs.^[8] He was declared as the "best bowler ever" in Test cricket by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002,^[9] and the Sri Lankan team depended heavily on the off spinner for wickets.^[10]

Muralitharan is well ahead of other bowlers by number of five-wicket hauls in Tests with 67 to his name; Australian cricketer Shane Warne ranks in second place with 37.^[3] Making his Test debut in 1992,^[11] Muralitharan took his first five-wicket haul a year later against South Africa. He performed this feat against every other Test playing nation. He went on to take ten or more wickets per match on 22 occasions—also a world record—while Shane Warne ranks second, having achieved this on 10 occasions.^[12] His career best is 9 wickets for 51 runs against Zimbabwe, which ranks as the world's fifth-best figures in an innings.^[13] He was most successful against Bangladesh and South Africa, with 11 five-wicket hauls against each team. Fourteen of Muralitharan's five-wicket hauls were taken at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.^[14] He retired from Test cricket in July 2010, capturing his 67th and final five-wicket haul during his last match.^[15]

In ODIs, Muralitharan is ranked second in number of five-wicket hauls to Pakistani cricketer Waqar Younis.^[4] He played his first ODI in 1993,^[16] and took his first ODI five-wicket haul in 1998 against Pakistan. He repeated this performance against seven different opponents.^[17] His career best of 7 wickets for 30 runs is the fourth-best bowling figures in ODI history.^[18]