On Monday, October 21, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada creates history by being the world’s fastest bowler to 300 wickets in Test cricket. During play on Day 1 of the first Test match between South Africa and Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, the right-arm bowler accomplished the feat. On the fifth ball of the fourteenth over, the 29-year-old bowler took out Mushfiqur Rahim for 11 runs from 20 balls, completing his 300th wicket in Test cricket.
Waqar Younis, a former Pakistani pacer, held the record for the fastest time to 300 wickets in a Test match prior to Rabada. Rabada needed just 11,817 deliveries to reach the mark, while the great cricketer needed 12,602 balls to do so.
11,817 – Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
12,602 – Waqar Younis (Pakistan)
12,605 – Dale Steyn (South Africa)
13,672 – Allan Donald (South Africa)
13,728 – Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
Rabada is the sixth bowler from South Africa to take 300 or more wickets in Test matches. He made his Test debut for the Proteas against India on November 5, 2015, in Mohali. Dale Steyn holds the overall record for the Proteas in the five-day format of the game in terms of most batters dismissed.
In 93 Test matches, the former world number one bowler removed 439 hitters. He is followed by Shaun Pollock, a former all-rounder and captain who took 421 wickets in 108 Tests.
Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald, and Morne Morkel rank third, fourth, and fifth in terms of wickets taken, with 390, 330, and 309, respectively.
South Africa’s highest number of Test wickets
439 – Dale Steyn (93 Tests)
421 – Shaun Pollock (108 Tests)
390 – Makhaya Ntini (101 Tests)
330 – Allan Donald (72 Tests)
309 – Morne Morkel (86 Tests)
301 – Kagiso Rabada (65 Tests)*
Rabada became the third-fastest South African bowler to reach 300 Test wickets in terms of matches taken after reaching the milestone in his 65th Test. Steyn reached 300 in 61 Tests, while Allan Donald did it in his 63rd encounter.
After removing Rahim, Rabada removed Litton Das on the first ball of the 20th over, exacerbating Bangladesh’s woes in front of home fans. Tristan Stubbs caught the wicketkeeper-batter for a single run off 13 balls.
Rabada’s two wickets in the ongoing match have also helped him overtake great English all-rounder Ian Botham as the leading wicket-taker in international cricket.Botham concluded his career with 528 wickets, while Rabada has 529 dismissals.
