Mohammed Shami turned in a brilliant bowling performance to help dismiss South Africa for 197 and in the process, he became just the 11th Indian bowler to claim 200 wickets in Test cricket.

He was the pick of the Indian bowlers on display in Centurion, impressing not only with his control but also his ability to keep the batters on the edge. He finished with figures of 16-5-44-5.

Bumrah was off the field for the majority of the SA innings after he twisted his ankle but Shami’s performance made light work of his absence.

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He bowled a relentless length at lively pace and was rewarded with his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests.

Most wickets by an Indian in Tests

Player Span Mat Wkts Ave SR
A Kumble 1990-2008 132 619 29.65 65.9
N Kapil Dev 1978-1994 131 434 29.64 63.9
R Ashwin 2011-2021 82* 427 24.21 52.3
Harbhajan Singh 1998-2015 103 417 32.46 68.5
I Sharma 2007-2021 105 311 32.40 61.6
Z Khan 2000-2014 92 311 32.94 60.4
BS Bedi 1966-1979 67 266 28.71 80.3
BS Chandrasekhar 1964-1979 58 242 29.74 65.9
J Srinath 1991-2002 67 236 30.49 64.0
RA Jadeja 2012-2021 57 232 24.84 61.7
Mohammed Shami 2013-2021 55* 200 27.10 49.4

He is fifth in the pacer’s list for highest wicket-takers where Kapil Dev with 434 leads the pack:

Most wickets by an Indian pacer in Tests

Player Span Mat Wkts Ave SR
N Kapil Dev 1978-1994 131 434 29.64 63.9
I Sharma 2007-2021 105 311 32.40 61.6
Z Khan 2000-2014 92 311 32.94 60.4
J Srinath 1991-2002 67 236 30.49 64.0
Mohd Shami 2013-2021 55* 200 27.10 49.4

Speaking to media later in the day, Shami said there are no favourite five-fors or even wickets in his 200 that he would single out as every one of those is a moment he has worked hard for. Incidentally, Shami’s 100th and 200th Test wicket both came at the same venue.

Shami said there was no mystery to his success. “I bowled line and length,” he told journalists.

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“Test cricket is not rocket science,” he said. “It is important to understand your lengths and the conditions . . . like I always do I was just hitting my lengths.”

Here are some more numbers from Shami’s 5-wicket haul and 200-wicket milestone:

Stats courtesy ESPNCricinfo