Kagiso Rabada, a pacer from South Africa, became the seventh bowler in history to reach 500 wickets in international cricket on Tuesday.
Rabada accomplished this feat in the Centurion Test, the first Test between South Africa and India.
The 28-year-old had the ball in his grasp and was breathing fire. With figures of 5/44 in 17 overs at an economy rate of 2.58, he concluded the first day. He claimed the vital wickets of Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
Rabada has now taken 500 wickets in 218 international games with a strike rate of 35.19 and an average of 24.79. His 7/112 bowling average is his best. With 823 wickets, Shaun Pollock leads all Proteas international wicket scorers.
He has taken 285 wickets at an average of 22.10 in 61 Test matches for the Proteas, with the best statistics being 7/112. In Test matches, he is the seventh-highest wicket-taker for the Proteas.
He has claimed 157 wickets for Proteas at an average of 27.77 in 101 ODIs, with the best stats coming from 6/16. In ODIs, he is the Proteas’ ninth-highest wicket-taker.
Rabada has claimed 58 wickets at an average of 29.87 in 56 Twenty20 Internationals, his best statistics coming at 3/20. He is Proteas’ sixth-highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals.
Prior to the match, SA had India bat first. India struggled against the pacers, falling short at 24/3. Then, with 68 runs added, a partnership between Virat Kohli (38 in 64 balls, five fours) and Shreyas Iyer (31 in 50 balls, three fours, and a six) helped India escape difficulty.
At the end of the first day, India reached 208/8 thanks to a quick comeback by Shardul Thakur (24 in 33 balls, with three balls) and KL Rahul’s resilient 70* in 105 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes.
Proteas also claimed wickets from Nandre Burger (2/50) and Marco Jansen (1/52).