Mohammed Shami turned in a brilliant bowling performance to help dismiss South Africa for 197 and in the process, he became just the 11th Indian bowler to claim 200 wickets in Test cricket.
He was the pick of the Indian bowlers on display in Centurion, impressing not only with his control but also his ability to keep the batters on the edge. He finished with figures of 16-5-44-5.
Bumrah was off the field for the majority of the SA innings after he twisted his ankle but Shami’s performance made light work of his absence.
He bowled a relentless length at lively pace and was rewarded with his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests.
Most wickets by an Indian in Tests
Player | Span | Mat | Wkts | Ave | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Kumble | 1990-2008 | 132 | 619 | 29.65 | 65.9 |
N Kapil Dev | 1978-1994 | 131 | 434 | 29.64 | 63.9 |
R Ashwin | 2011-2021 | 82* | 427 | 24.21 | 52.3 |
Harbhajan Singh | 1998-2015 | 103 | 417 | 32.46 | 68.5 |
I Sharma | 2007-2021 | 105 | 311 | 32.40 | 61.6 |
Z Khan | 2000-2014 | 92 | 311 | 32.94 | 60.4 |
BS Bedi | 1966-1979 | 67 | 266 | 28.71 | 80.3 |
BS Chandrasekhar | 1964-1979 | 58 | 242 | 29.74 | 65.9 |
J Srinath | 1991-2002 | 67 | 236 | 30.49 | 64.0 |
RA Jadeja | 2012-2021 | 57 | 232 | 24.84 | 61.7 |
Mohammed Shami | 2013-2021 | 55* | 200 | 27.10 | 49.4 |
He is fifth in the pacer’s list for highest wicket-takers where Kapil Dev with 434 leads the pack:
Most wickets by an Indian pacer in Tests
Player | Span | Mat | Wkts | Ave | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
N Kapil Dev | 1978-1994 | 131 | 434 | 29.64 | 63.9 |
I Sharma | 2007-2021 | 105 | 311 | 32.40 | 61.6 |
Z Khan | 2000-2014 | 92 | 311 | 32.94 | 60.4 |
J Srinath | 1991-2002 | 67 | 236 | 30.49 | 64.0 |
Mohd Shami | 2013-2021 | 55* | 200 | 27.10 | 49.4 |
Speaking to media later in the day, Shami said there are no favourite five-fors or even wickets in his 200 that he would single out as every one of those is a moment he has worked hard for. Incidentally, Shami’s 100th and 200th Test wicket both came at the same venue.
Shami said there was no mystery to his success. “I bowled line and length,” he told journalists.
“Test cricket is not rocket science,” he said. “It is important to understand your lengths and the conditions . . . like I always do I was just hitting my lengths.”
Here are some more numbers from Shami’s 5-wicket haul and 200-wicket milestone:
Stats courtesy ESPNCricinfo