South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada set a new record by surpassing the legendary Jacques Kallis during the match between the West Indies and South Africa at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Rabada delivered an outstanding performance with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 56 runs in 18 overs. Despite a pitch offering little assistance to fast bowlers, Rabada followed a strategic plan to challenge the West Indies batsmen. He secured the key wicket of Kavem Hodge and later dismissed Gudakesh Motie and Kemar Roach to clean up the lower order.
Kagiso Rabada becomes 6th leading wicket-taker for South Africa in Test cricket
When Kagiso Rabada claimed Gudakesh Motie as his second wicket in the match, he reached a total of 293 Test wickets, surpassing Jacques Kallis’ record of 292 to become South Africa’s 6th highest wicket-taker in Test history.
Rabada achieved this milestone in just his 63rd Test. At 29 years old, he leads South Africa’s bowling attack and is a key wicket-taker across all formats for the Proteas.
Jacques Kallis, widely considered one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, played 166 Test matches for South Africa, taking 292 wickets at an average of 32.65. Kallis also recorded five five-wicket hauls during his Test career.
In addition to his impressive wicket tally, Kallis is South Africa’s highest run-scorer in Test cricket with over 13,000 runs and also holds the record for the most runs for the Proteas in One Day Internationals.
South Africa’s leading-wicket takers in Tests
Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn holds the record for the most Test wickets for South Africa, with 439 wickets in 93 matches at an average of 22.95. He is followed by Shaun Pollock, who has 421 wickets from 108 Tests at an average of 23.11.
In third place is Makhaya Ntini, who took 390 wickets in 101 Tests at an average of 28.82. Allan Donald ranks fourth with 330 wickets from 72 Tests, maintaining an average of 22.25. Steyn’s long-time bowling partner, who is fifth on the list, has 309 wickets in 86 Tests at an average of 27.66.
South Africa tighten their grip in the Test
Riding on Kagiso Rabada’s three-wicket haul and a marathon bowling spell by the left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, South Africa bowled out West Indies for just 233 runs in their first innings, thus taking a lead of 124 runs. South Africa scored 30-0 in their second innings at Stumps on Day 4 with both the openers looking good at the crease.
With just one day remaining in the match due to persistent rain throughout, it will be a tough task to force a result. However, South Africa will try to score runs quickly and declare in order to have any chance of collecting any points for the World Test Championship.
