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Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Starc leading race to break 18-year old record

The two other contenders are Imran Tahir and Mitchell McClenaghan.

Mohammed Shami (left) and Mitchell Starc © Getty Images
Mohammed Shami (left) and Mitchell Starc are on the verge of entering the record books © Getty Images

India’s pace bowler Mohammed Shami and Australian speedster Mitchell Starc are both in the running to break Saqlain Mushtaq’s 18-year old record to fastest 100 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). The Pakistani off-spinner took 53 matches to get to the landmark, which is the fastest of all time. Shane Bond (54) and Brett Lee (55) came close to breaking his record, but both men fell just short. Meanwhile, Starc has 87 wickets in 43 matches, which means he needs only 13 wickets in nine games to break Saqlain’s record. Shami too has 87 wickets but in 47 matches, which means that he needs 13 wickets in five games. VVS Laxman column: A morale-boosting Test series win

Player Team W M
Saqlain Mushtaq Pakistan 100* 53
Shane Bond New Zealand 100* 54
Brett Lee Australia 100* 55
Mitchell Starc Australia 87 43
Mohammed Shami India 87 47
Imran Tahir South Africa 77 44
Mitchell McClenaghan New Zealand 76 43

*More than 100 career wickets.

There are two other contenders as well: South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir and New Zealand left-arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan. However, Tahir has 77 wickets from 44 matches, which means that he needs 23 more wickets from eight matches to get to the landmark, which does not seem wholly likely given that his next full series will be against India — a team that has traditionally played spin well. McClenaghan on the other hand has 76 wickets in 43 ODIs, which means that he needs 24 wickets from nine matches to reach the landmark. As things stand, Starc or Shami are the likeliest to reach 100 wickets in fewer than 53 matches, thereby usurping Saqlain’s record. READ: India finally break their shackles with historic series win against Sri Lanka

 

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