INDIAN CRICKET

Mohammad Shami: Milestone man becomes 3rd Indian pacer to get 200 wickets in Tests

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On Tuesday, Mohammad Shami picked up his 6th 5-wicket haul in Tests on Day 3 of the first Test against South Africa in SuperSport Park, Centurion.

He became the 3rd Indian bowler behind Kapil Dev to reach the milestone of 200 Test wickets in his 55th Test match.

The latter achieved the milestone in his 50th Test while Javagal Srinath took 54 Test matches to achieve the same in 2001. Srinath had also got his milestone in South Africa.

Shami bowled superb spells with both the old and the new ball on Day 3 and the South African batting line-up crumbled against his bowling. He took the crucial wickets of Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, and the well-set Temba Bavuma.

Although Bumrah was ruled out for an hour with an ankle injury, Shami took the responsibility of leading the bowling attack and got the South Africans all out for 197 runs and giving India a 130 run lead.

If we look at the 200 Test wickets club, Shami is in the 9th spot. R. Ashwin has the record for the fastest 200 wickets which he achieved in his 37th Test while Yasir Shah of Pakistan is at the top of this list by achieving the milestone only in his 33rd Test.

List of India pacers with 200 or more wickets in Tests

Kapil Dev- 434 in 227 innings

Zaheer Khan- 311 in 165 innings

Ishant Sharma- 311 in 185 innings

Javagal Srinath- 236 in 121 innings

Shami- 200 in 103 innings

Shami has always been India’s go-to bowler in Tests since his debut in 2013. In 2018, however, he has achieved a new high and has remained India’s mainstay ever since.

After overcoming his personal issues, Shami worked on his fitness and his bowling and has become one of India’s most lethal pacers. He was an important part of India’s Test series victory in Australia in 2018-19 as well as against England this year that has given India a 2-1 lead in the incomplete 5-Test series.

Shami scalped 47 Test wickets in 2018, 33 in 2019 and has a good pairing with Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav.

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