Jasprit Bumrah fastest Indian to 200 Test wickets, 4th-quickest overall; breaks Garner’s stunning bowling average record
Jasprit Bumrah achieved a remarkable feat on Sunday, becoming the fastest Indian bowler to reach 200 Test wickets during the ongoing Boxing Day Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The milestone came after he took four wickets in Australia’s first innings and then dismissed Travis Head for 1 in their second innings on Day 4, marking his 200th Test wicket in just his 44th Test match.
With this achievement, Bumrah joins an elite group of bowlers, including Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada, who also reached the 200-wicket mark in 44 matches.
Bumrah achieved the landmark with his 8484th legal delivery in Test cricket, making him the fastest Indian to reach 200 wickets in terms of balls bowled. He eclipsed Mohammed Shami, who reached the same milestone after 9896 deliveries.
Overall, Bumrah is now the fourth-fastest bowler to achieve 200 wickets, behind Waqar Younis (7725 balls), Dale Steyn (7848 balls), and Kagiso Rabada (8154 balls).
Fewest balls to 200 Test wickets:
Waqar Younis – 7725 balls
Dale Steyn – 7848 balls
Kagiso Rabada – 8154 balls
Jasprit Bumrah – 8484 balls
Malcolm Marshall – 9234 balls
Notably, Bumrah has reached this milestone with a phenomenal bowling average of 19.56, making him the first bowler in history to take 200 wickets with a sub-20 average. He conceded only 3912 runs to reach the mark in the longest format, surpassing West Indies great Joel Garner, who earlier held the record by conceding 4067 runs.
In terms of Test matches, Bumrah’s 44 matches to 200 wickets is surpassed only by off-spinner R. Ashwin (38 matches) in Indian cricket history.
Bumrah’s achievement is even more significant given his performance in the World Test Championship. With his first wicket in the Boxing Day Test earlier, he became only the third pacer after Cummins and Mitchell Starc to reach 150 wickets in the WTC since its inception in 2019. Bumrah’s total of 151 wickets in the WTC is the second-highest for Indian bowlers, behind Ashwin’s 195 wickets across three championship cycles.