Top 5 fastest bowlers to 300 Test wickets by balls bowled ft. Kagiso Rabada
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada joined the elite list of cricketers to take 300 wickets in the longest format on Monday (October 21). He achieved this feat during the ongoing first Test fixture between South Africa and Bangladesh in Dhaka.
In the past, there have been many bowlers who have gone past the 300-wicket mark in Test cricket. Likewise, Rabada has turned out to be one of the finest pacers for the Proteas in recent years due to his accuracy and pace. Making his Test debut in 2016, Rabada now has 302 wickets, with best match figures of 13/144 coming against England in 2016.
On that note, let's take a look at the fastest bowlers to cross the milestone of 300 Test wickets in terms of balls.
#5 13,728 - Malcolm Marshall
The legendary West Indies pacer Malcolm Marshall is fifth on the coveted list. Although, Marshall didn't possess a tall structure as compared to his colleagues at that time, he managed to trouble batters with his multiple skills.
He used his fierce pace, dangerous bouncer, cutters and could swing the ball both ways. Marshall crossed the 300-wicket mark in his 13,728th ball against Australia in 1988. He completed his career as highest wicket-taker for West Indies with 376 scalps, before Courtney Walsh rose to the top of the charts.
#4 13,672 - Allan Donald
Allan Donald was one of the quickest bowlers of his generation and had the ability to make things happen with his accurate line-length and swing. He became the first Proteas bowler to take 300 Test wickets against New Zealand in 2000.
Donald played 72 Tests and scalped a total of 330 wickets, with best match figures of 12/139 against India in 1992.
#3 12,605 - Dale Steyn
Since his debut in 2004, Dale Steyn was arguably the most fearsome bowler in international cricket. His aggression, slick action and death stares were an addition to his immense skill as a pacer, which made him a joy to watch for the fans.
Steyn crossed the 300-wicket mark against New Zealand in 2013. He played for the Proteas until 2019 and finished with 439 wickets in 93 games. He holds the record for taking most wickets by a South African bowler in the longest format.
#2 12,602 - Waqar Younis
One of the key exponents of reverse swing with his teammate Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis was another legendary pacer who helped Pakistan win many games in the 90s. The key highlight of his bowling was his late-swing and searing yorkers, which breached the defenses of the batters.
Waqar took his 300th wicket in 2000 against Sri Lanka in Colombo. The right-arm pacer went to represent the country until 2003 and finished with 373 wickets.
#1 11,817 - Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada created history by becoming the fastest pacer in terms of balls to cross the 300-wicket mark in Tests in the ongoing Test against Bangladesh. Interestingly, he is also the youngest Proteas pacer at 29 years and 150 days to achieve the milestone.
Rabada finished with figures of 3/26, taking wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan. As a result, he played a key role to bundle out Bangladesh for a low score of 106.