5 Bowlers who claimed 100 Test wickets in least days
England’s dashing all-rounder, Ian Botham’s Test career got off to a great start as he raced to 100 Test wickets in only 19 matches. On 6th August 1979, Botham got his 100th Test wicket when he dismissed Sunil Gavaskar on the fourth day of the Lord’s Test. Botham’s Test career was two years and five days old at the start of the match which made him the quickest player to reach 100 Test wickets in terms of time taken.
Kapil’s feat
However, Botham’s record didn’t last long as the Indian all-rounder, Kapil Dev broke this record by a fair margin. In January 1980, five months after Botham’s feat, Kapil Dev reached 100 Test wickets in only one year and 105 days from his debut. However, Kapil played as many as 25 matches in reaching this milestone. One of the factors that contributed towards Kapil Dev’s record was India’s busy Test schedule in his first two calendar years.
Kapil Dev featured in a six-match Test series at home against West Indies after playing a three-match series against Pakistan that marked his debut. Soon after that, he went to England for a four-match series which was followed by a six-match Test series against Australia and Pakistan in the 1979-80 home season. Hence, this record of Kapil Dev remains unbroken and no player has even come close to breaking his record thus far.
(Stats as on August 5, 2020)
Other record-holders
Four more players completed 100 Test wickets inside two years from debut pushing Ian Botham to 6th position. Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in 2009 and England’s Graeme Swann in 2010 got to 100 wickets in Test cricket in only one year and 250 days from their Test debut. Interestingly, both the players completed their milestones in career’s 23rd Test that too in England.
Kagiso Rabada and Yasir Shah are the most recent entrants to this list who needed less than two years from debut for this milestone. Rabada got there in one year and 335 days from debut to get there in 22 matches while Yasir went on to become the joint 2nd fastest taking 17 Test matches which he played in a span of one year and 357 days.
