SA vs India, Test series: Indian bowlers eye several milestones
The three-match Test series between South Africa and India is set to kick off on December 26. Centurion (the SuperSport Park) will host the Boxing Day Test. Bowlers from both sides will be looking to make the most of the bowling-friendly wickets. Indian bowlers Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravichandran Ashwin are eyeing several milestones. Here, we decode the same.
Mohammed Shami is one of the most experienced fast bowlers in world cricket presently. He has accounted for 195 wickets from 54 matches at an average of 27.56. Shami is set to become only the 11th Indian bowler with over 200 wickets in Test cricket. Kapil Dev, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, and Javagal Srinath are the only Indians to have attained this feat.
Besides Shami, Bumrah is also India's premier fast bowler across formats. He completed 100 Test wickets (101) in just 24 matches and averages 22.79 in the format. In a Test career spanning nearly four years, Bumrah has played just two Tests at home. Therefore, he is set to complete 100 Test wickets away from home. Bumrah is three wickets away from the mark.
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been on a roll of late. He is the only bowler with over 50 Test wickets this year. Earlier this year, he broke Harbhajan Singh's record of taking 417 Test wickets. Ashwin now has 427 scalps from 81 Tests at 24.12. He can overtake Richard Hadlee (431), Rangana Herath (433), and Dev (434) in terms of Test wickets.
If Ashwin eclipses Herath's tally (433), he will have the second-most wickets by an off-spinner in Test cricket. At the moment, Herath is behind legend Muthiah Muralidaran, who has the most wickets in the Test history (800).
As per experts, the best of Indian seamer Ishant Sharma is behind him. However, his reputation can still earn him a game or two on the South African tour. Ishant has the joint-second-most wickets by an Indian fast bowler in Tests (311) with Zaheer Khan. By breaking a tie with the latter, Ishant will only be behind Dev (434) on the list.
