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Follow UsWhen Kagiso Rabada cleaned up Mushfiqur Rahim on day one of the first Test in Mirpur, he became the quickest bowler in history to 300 Test wickets. Rabada took only 11,817 deliveries to bring up 300 Test wickets, becoming the first and only bowler in history to bring up 300 wickets under 12,000 balls.
Yet despite unquestionably being one of the greatest of all time, there was a small - if not slightly big - asterisk next to his name: his record in Asia. Before the two-Test series against Bangladesh, Rabada’s average in the subcontinent read 35.63. He’d only taken one four-wicket haul in 17 innings and simply not been as effective or lethal in Asia as he’d been in some of the other places.
Two weeks on, however, it’s fair to say that asterisk is a thing of the past.
Rabada decided to take matters into his own hands across the two Tests against Bangladesh and produced one of the greatest EVER showings by a pacer in a series in Asia.
Across the two Tests, both of which South Africa won comfortably, Rabada took 14 wickets at an average of 9.
It’s only the fifth instance in Test history of a pacer averaging under 10 with the ball in a bilateral series in Asia (min 12 wkts)
Best bowling average for a pacer in a bilateral series in Asia (min 12 wkts)
5.53 - Chaminda Vaas vs WI in 2005
8.15 - Ian Botham vs IND in 1980
8.28 - Imran Khan vs SL in 1982
8.76 - Fazal Mahmood vs SL in 1956
9.00 - Kagiso Rabada vs BAN in 2024*
Rabada’s 14 wickets are the joint-most wickets taken in a two-match series in Asia by a non-Asian seamer. The only other South African to have equaled the feat? None other than Dale Steyn.
Most wickets in a bilateral series in Asia by a non-Asian pacer (2-match series)
14 - Kagiso Rabada vs Bangladesh in 2024*
14 - Dale Steyn vs Bangladesh in 2008
13 - Dale Steyn vs Sri Lanka in 2014
There have hardly been finer bowling performances in Bangladesh by a pacer. In Test history, only two other pacers have taken more wickets in a Test series in Bangladesh, and both were Asians.
Most wickets in a bilateral Test series in Bangladesh
18 - Irfan Pathan in 2004
15 - Zaheer Khan in 2010
14 - Kagiso Rabada in 2024*
14 - Dale Steyn in 2008
14 - Tinashe Panyangara in 2014
9 of Rabada’s 14 wickets came in the first Test in Mirpur, where he picked up a six-wicket haul in the second innings. His match figures of 9/72 were the second-best for a South African pacer in Asia and the best for a Proteas seamer in Bangladesh.
Best match figures for a South African pacer in Asia
10/108 - Dale Steyn vs India in Nagpur, 2010
9/72 - Kagiso Rabada vs Bangladesh in Mirpur, 2024*
9/99 - Dale Steyn vs Sri Lanka in Galle, 2014
9/106 - Brett Schultz vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, 1993
In one series, then, Rabada has brought down his average in Asia from 35.63 to 25.27. But when it comes to the 29-year-old, it’s not just in this one series that he’s proven to be unplayable of late.
Since the start of 2020, a total of 11 bowlers have taken 100 or more wickets in Tests. Among them, Rabada is the only individual to have averaged under 20.
Best bowling average in Tests since 2020 (min 100 wkts)
19.83 - Kagiso Rabada
20.84 - Ravichandran Ashwin
21.31 - Jasprit Bumrah
23.19 - Pat Cummins
Rabada is also the only bowler in the list of 11 to have a strike rate under 40. It’s in line with his career, alright. After 66 Tests and 313 wickets, Rabada’s bowling strike rate now reads 38.5 - the best for any bowler in Test history.
South Africa have a big task at hand. They might need to win all four of their remaining games to guarantee a spot in the WTC final, but three wins will give them a good shout.
At this point, you simply have to put the Proteas down as the clearcut favourites simply because of the Rabada factor. He averages 19.07 at home, with this number further improving to 18.18 since the start of 2020.
Beware, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Watch out, India, Australia and New Zealand - Rabada and the Proteas are coming for you!
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