Mohammed Shami takes 100 Test wickets

The fast bowler reached the landmark in the ongoing second Test at Centurion.

Mohammed Shami gained his 100th Test wicket on Day Two at Centurion.

Mohammed Shami joined the club of Indian bowlers with 100 Test wickets, with his dismissal of Keshav Maharaj on Day Two of the second Test against South Africa in Centurion on Sunday. Shami is now among 20 Indian bowlers with 100 Test wickets or more.

The fast bowler took 29 Tests to reach that landmark; in comparison, his compatriot R. Ashwin took 17 Tests to get there. However, in the parameter of the bowling strike-rate, Shami is up there with India’s best. He has taken his scalps at 53.7; among Indians above him in the list of leading wicket-takers, only Ashwin (52.7) has a better rate. But Shami is more profligate than the rest, with an economy rate of 3.40 that mitigates his final analysis.

Good form

Shami has been in good form of late. Having played only four matches in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, he took 24 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls.

In the first Test against South Africa, Shami took four wickets, including a spell of 3 for 28 in the second innings to help India restrict the host for 130.