Dale Steyn Surpasses Kapil Dev In Test Wicket Tally
Feb 14, 2019 at 4:39 PM
Surpassing the legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, South African pacer Dale Steyn has recently become the eighth highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history.
On Thursday, during the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Durban, Dale Steyn achieved this remarkable feat. That incident happened during the morning session when Dale Steyn dismissed the debutant Sri Lankan batsman Oshada Fernando (19 runs). The 35-year-old right-arm pacer trapped the Sri Lankan batsman for an lbw. However, the batsman could save that wicket if he took the review. While Kapil Dev picked up 434 Test wickets, that wicket was Dale Steyn’s 435th Test wicket.
Earlier, on the last day, Dale Steyn levelled Kapil Dev’s Test wicket tally after dismissing the opener Lahiru Thirimanne for a duck. The Sri Lankan opener had an outside edge that the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock safely caught.
Now, on day two, he has achieved this special feat. Till the lunch of the day two, Dale Steyn hasn’t added another wicket in his tally. At present, he is the fifth highest Test wicket-taker as a pacer. Currently, Dale Steyn is two wickets behind from the English pacer Stuart Broad (437 Test wickets).
Here is the list of top ten most wicket-takers in Test cricket history (Updated till the lunch of the day two of Durban Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka)
Player (Team) | Matches (Innings) | Wickets | Average | BBI | BBM | 5wkt/10wkt |
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka/ICC World XI) | 133 (230) | 800 | 22.72 | 9/51 | 16/220 | 67/22 |
Shane Warne (Australia) | 145 (273) | 708 | 25.41 | 8/71 | 12/128 | 37/10 |
Anil Kumble (India) | 132 (236) | 619 | 29.65 | 10/74 | 14/149 | 35/8 |
James Anderson (England) | 148 (277) | 575 | 26.93 | 7/42 | 11/71 | 27/3 |
Glenn McGrath (Australia) | 124 (243) | 563 | 21.64 | 8/24 | 10/27 | 29/3 |
Courtney Walsh (West Indies) | 132 (242) | 519 | 24.44 | 7/37 | 13/55 | 22/3 |
Stuart Broad (England) | 126 (231) | 437 | 29.05 | 8/15 | 11/121 | 16/2 |
Dale Steyn (South Africa) | 92* (168*) | 435 | 22.77 | 7/51 | 11/60 | 26/5 |
Kapil Dev (India) | 131 (227) | 434 | 29.64 | 9/83 | 11/146 | 23/2 |
Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) | 93 (170) | 433 | 28.07 | 9/127 | 14/184 | 34/9 |
(Special Note: BBI = Best bowling in an innings; BBM = Best bowling in a match)
Dale Steyn made his international cricket debut in December 2004 through the Test cricket. The ongoing Test match is the 92nd Test match of his career. The former no.1-ranked Test bowler is now the 26th-ranked Test bowler. In last December, during the Centurion Test match against Pakistan, Dale Steyn became the highest Test wicket-taker as a South African bowler surpassing Shaun Pollock‘s tally of 421 Test wickets.