Fast and furious: Fastest to 250 Test wickets in Test cricket
Test cricket is the most prestigious format in the sport of cricket. Legends made their name by performing highly in this particular format. A team relies on the bowlers to take those 20 wickets to win the match. Bowler loves bowling in this format and picking wickets in the whites. Few high-quality bowlers just didn’t reach the milestone of 250 wickets in Tests, but they managed to do so even in a lesser number of deliveries.
Let’s take a look at the 3 bowlers to take the least balls to reach the landmark of 250 wickets in Tests:
3.Waqar Younis (10,170)
Former legendary Pakistani pace bowler Waqar Younis occupies the third position in this elite list. The right-arm fast bowler reached the milestone of 250 wickets in Test cricket in 10,170 deliveries. He achieved the feat in his 51st match, which is joint-fifth fastest with Muthiah Muralitharan. Waqar touched the landmark against South Africa in an away game in Gqeberha in the year 1998. He ended his career with 373 wickets to his name in 87 matches at an average of 23.56.
2.Kagiso Rabada (10,065)
South Africa’s Kagiso got to the feat in the recently concluded Test match against England at Lord’s, in 10,065 deliveries. He became joint-sixth fastest with other legendary names like Richard Hadlee and Malcolm Marshall in achieving the landmark in 53 games. His five-wicket haul in the first innings in the above-mentioned clash helped the Proteas in beating England in the first Test as he also won the Player of the Match award. His average and strike rate are 22.10 and 40.2 respectively in Tests.
1.Dale Steyn (9927)
Former South African seam sensation Dale Steyn tops the list. The right-arm fast bowler reached the achievement of 250 scalps in just 9927 deliveries. He is the third-fastest to the milestone with his feat coming in his 49th Test match against Sri Lanka in Centurion in the year 2011. R Ashwin (45) and Dennis Lillee (48) occupy the first two positions for reaching to the 250-wicket landmark the quickest. One of the greatest bowlers the format has ever produced, Steyn ended his glorious career with 439 wickets at an average of 22.95 and a strike rate of 42.3 in 93 Test matches.
