Cape Town, 31 October (H.S.): South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has completed 600 wickets in international cricket, becoming the fifth bowler from his country to achieve the milestone. He reached the landmark on the fifth day of the third Test against Australia in Cape Town. Rabada also completed 350 wickets in Test cricket during the match.

Rabada now has 601 wickets from 260 international matches. Before him, four South African bowlers had crossed the 600-wicket mark: Shaun Pollock (823), Dale Steyn (697), Makhaya Ntini (661) and Allan Donald (602).

Rabada completed 350 Test wickets by dismissing Australian batter Travis Head, who scored 14 runs. With the milestone, he moved into joint third place among fast bowlers to reach 350 Test wickets in the fewest matches. He achieved the feat in 75 Tests, equalling the record of Malcolm Marshall. Richard Hadlee and Dale Steyn reached the landmark in 69 Tests each, while Dennis Lillee took 70 Tests. Glenn McGrath required 74 Tests to complete 350 wickets.

In terms of deliveries bowled, Rabada has become the fastest bowler to claim 350 Test wickets, reaching the milestone in just 13,808 balls. Dale Steyn is second on the list with 14,719 deliveries, followed by Waqar Younis with 14,905. Malcolm Marshall achieved the feat in 16,285 balls, while Mitchell Starc took 16,908 deliveries.

## Rabada dismantles Australia's top order

On the decisive fifth day of the third Test, Rabada produced a superb bowling performance to put Australia's top order under severe pressure. Australia began the day needing 288 runs to win, but Rabada struck twice in his opening over to leave the visitors in trouble. He dismissed Matt Renshaw for a duck and trapped Marnus Labuschagne leg before wicket for four.

Rabada then removed Travis Head for 14 to claim his 350th Test wicket. A mix-up between Cameron Green and Josh Inglis resulted in Inglis being run out for four. As a result, Australia were reduced to 40 for four in 15.3 overs. Green was unbeaten on 16, with the visitors still requiring 248 runs for victory.

Earlier, South Africa had scored 329 in their first innings, in response to which Australia posted 429 to secure a 100-run lead. The hosts staged a strong comeback in their second innings, scoring 387 to set Australia a target of 288.

Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder played outstanding innings, scoring 101 and 115 respectively, to put South Africa in a strong position and set up a challenging target for the visitors.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar