Stats: Fastest Indian pacers to 100 Test wickets

With Keshav Maharaj’s wicket on Day Two of the Second Test at Centurion on Sunday, Mohammed Shami has joined the club of Indian bowlers with 100 Test wickets. Shami is now among 20 Indian bowlers with 100 Test wickets or more. The fast bowler took 29 Tests to reach that landmark; in comparison, his compatriot R. Ashwin took 17 Tests to get there. Overall, he is the third fastest Indian pacer to do so.

The top two spots are dominated by two of the best all-rounders in Indian history. None other than Kapil Dev rules the list with 100 wickets in 25 Tests. Irfan Pathan follows next with 28 matches while Shami took 29 Tests to reach the landmark. Javagal Srinath took 30 Tests to get 100 wickets under his belt while Ishant Sharma took 33 Tests to achieve it.

Among all Indian bowlers, Shami’s team-mate R Ashwin is the fastest Indian to 100 Test wickets, getting there in his 18th match. The next best is Erapalli Prasanna, who reached the milestone in 20 Tests. Anil Kumble (21), Subhash Gupte, BS Chandrasekhar and Pragyan Ojha (22), Vinoo Mankad (23), Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh (25) follow.

However, in the parameter of the bowling strike-rate, Mohammed Shami is among India’s best. He has taken his scalps at 53.7. Only Ravichandran Ashwin is among those Indians above him in the list of leading wicket-takers with a better rate (52.7). But Shami is more expensive than the rest, with an economy rate of 3.40 that overshadows his final analysis, according to SportStar.

He has been in good form of late. Having played only four matches in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, he took 24 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls. In the first Test against team South Africa, Shami took four wickets, including a spell of 3 for 28 in the second innings to help India restrict the host to 130. Even though his run-up and action does not appear as seamless and effortless as before, he has been a key player for India in Tests, particularly when he is fit.

Here are the fastest Indian pacers to 100 Test wickets: