Kagiso Rabada picked up his 14th Test match five-wicket haul on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test match against India, a feat that improves his already historically excellent numbers.
Up until lunch on day one, Rabada had figures of 5-41 after 15 overs, conceding runs at an economy rate of 2.70 per over. The highlight was his stunning dismissal of Virat Kohli, getting him with a brilliant out-swinger that angled in initially, forcing Kohli to play the ball before it left him late and kissed his outside edge. He had also dismissed India skipper Rohit Sharma earlier in the day, getting the opener for the sixth time in Test cricket. It was his first five-for against India in international cricket and he has now achieved the landmark against all countries he has played more than 15 games against.
Rabada has also surpassed Vernon Philander with a five-wicket haul which is currently the fifth-most by a South African in Test cricket. In total, he made his 61 appearances in Tests and at an average of 22.09 he took 285 wickets and a hitting percentage of 39.3. Overall, among the bowlers with at least 200 Test wickets, Rabada is the only bowler whose strike rate is less than 40. Rabada is only the second bowler in the history of Test cricket to lower the threshold to 100 wickets. George Roman has 112 scalps on 34.1 balls per clearance, and only one player is better than him. Roman made his last test in 1896.
In Japan, the numbers continue to improve. Currently South Africa’s fourth most successful bowler, Rabada has taken 178 scalps at his home, averaging 19.03 and scoring a strike rate of 33.1. No bowler in this country averages more than 50 wickets, and his second best bowler on the list in terms of strike rate (at least he takes 50 wickets) is 40.2 Tests per toss. Dale got his wicket is his stein.
Overall, Rabada ranks among the top bowlers with at least 100 wickets at home. No other bowler has taken 100 Test wickets in this format with a strike rate of less than 35. Waqar Younis (38.7 strike rate at home) and Dale Steyn (40.2) are the next bowlers on the list. And it highlights how effective Rabada was when playing in familiar conditions.
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At 28 years old, Rabada currently has 500 international tickets. He is the onlythird South Africanto take 500 wickets in all formats before the age of 29, with Sean Pollock (565) and Makaya Ntini (548) topping the list. is. Rabada is also the eighth pacer to accomplish this feat by the age of 28. Overall, he has taken a wicket every 35.1 balls in international cricket, giving him at least 500 wickets under the age of 29 and the highest strike rate of all bowlers.
The right winger continued to perform well at Centurion. This was the ground’s fourth five-wicket haul in eight Tests. In 15 innings at SuperSport Park, Rabada took 55 wickets at an average of 16.54 and a strike rate of 28.9. Dale Steyn is the only South African bowler to have taken more wickets in a single pitch. He took 57 wickets at Newlands in Cape Town. Rabada is the only bowler on South African pitches where he has taken more than 40 wickets with a strike rate of less than 30.
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