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- Kagiso Rabada became the seventh South African bowler to take 200 proving grounds
- He was the third fastest South African to reach the mark behind Dale Steyn and Allan Donald
- Hassan Ali was his 200th victim
Kagiso Rabada became the seventh South African bowler to cross the 200 wicket mark when he eliminated Hassan Ali by 21.
The wicket, the ninth of the innings, was a special milestone for the 25-year-old who was born on the opening day of the 1995 Rugby World Cup (May 25).
Rabada, in their 44th Test Match, is the third fasting South African to reach the mark behind Allan Donald (42) and Dale Steyn (39), with the duo going on to collect 330 and 439 test scalps, respectively.
He is also the fourth-youngest pitcher in history to reach the mark.
In terms of deliveries released, only Steyn and Waqar Younis have taken less time to reach the milestone.
Rabada started the Karachi Test at 197 wickets, but ran to 199 the first night when he eliminated Abid Ali and Imran Butt in quick succession.
Faheem Ashraf should have been his 200th test scalp on the second night, but Quinton de Kock took a regulation opportunity with Ashraf at 21.
Wickets were hard to come by on the second day, but Rabada moved the ball very well and threw hostilely during the day but to no avail. It didn’t take too long to get the 200th window on the third day
Rabada made his test debut against India in a dust bowl in Mohali, where South Africa lost by 108 runs. In that game, Rabada returned meritorious match figures of 22-7-49-1, with all seven maidens arriving in the second inning.
Rabada has collected nine sets from five wickets and four 10fers, the most famous of which was his 13/144 against England at SuperSport Park in Centurion in 2016.
Those figures are second best for a South African bowler behind Makhaya Ntini’s 13/132 against the West Indies in Trinidad in 2005.
Rabada’s other 10 wicket round was against Sri Lanka (10/92) in 2017, Bangladesh (10/63) in 2017 and his famous 11/150 against Australia in Port Elizabeth in 2018.
Rabada’s first test five / fer came against England at the Wanderers in 2016 where his 5/73 helped limit England to 323, but Stuart Broad’s 6/17 swept South Africa’s second inning with 83, leaving England with a victory of seven wickets.
