World Cup 2019: Imran Tahir on the verge of breaking Alan Donald’s record
What’s the story?
South African leg spinner Imran Tahir is on the verge of breaking Alan Donald’s record of most wickets taken by a South African in all editions of the World Cup. Tahir, who currently has 37 wickets to his name in World Cups is just one shy of Alan Donald who has 38 wickets.
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South Africa, are precariously placed at the moment having lost three straight games against England, Bangladesh and India, followed by a wash-out against West Indies. Their only win of the campaign has come against bottom-placed Afghanistan. They are currently placed on the 8th position in the points table with three points.
The heart of the matter
Imran Tahir has eight wickets to his name in five matches so far and is the leading wicket-taker for the Proteas in the tournament. Tahir was impressive against England and had figures of 2/61 including the important wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan. Tahir picked a couple of wickets against Bangladesh as well but it wasn’t enough as the Proteas lost the match. He went wicketless against India but came back strongly with a four-wicket haul against Afghanistan.
Tahir has featured in three World Cups so far- 2011, 2015 and the ongoing 2019. It is most likely to be the last World Cup for the 40-year old who has been one of the most impressive spinners that South Africa has produced. He has taken 170 wickets so far in his ODI career.
Also read: Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the World Cup, Rishabh Pant named as replacement
What’s next?
Needing just two wickets from the minimum of 4 remaining matches, it is likely that Tahir will overtake Alan Donald as the most successful South African bowler in World Cups.
Also read - World cup most wickets
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