Yasir Shah creates history, becomes fastest to 200 Test wickets in Abu Dhabi game

Yasir Shah, Pakistan’s ace legspinner, created history in the third and final Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi as he became the fastest to 200 wickets. The 32-year-old achieved the landmark in just his 33^rd Test and on day 4 of the game when he trapped night watchman William Sommerville lbw with a quicker delivery for 4. Yasir broke the long-standing record held by Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett , who achieved the record in 1936 during the Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg.  Yasir also broke the Pakistan record for the fastest to 200 wickets, which was held by Waqar Younis, who achieved the record during his 38^th Test in the game against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1995.

Yasir has held broken several records for Pakistan in a career which began in 2014 in the two-Test series against Australia. Hailing from Swabi in the North West Frontier Province, Yasir has made waves in the current series against the Black Caps. His figures of 8/41 in the Dubai Test were the third-best figures by a Pakistan bowler in Tests, behind Abdul Qadir and Sarfraz Nawaz. He picked up six wickets in the second innings and finished with figures of 14/184, the joint-best figures for a Pakistan bowler in Tests. Imran Khan, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, holds the record with 14/116.

Read More |IPL 2019 auction: No Indian player in Rs 2-crore club

In addition to the above records, Yasir is the only bowler to take over 100 wickets in the United Arab Emirates. In 17 games, he has 114 wickets at an average of 23.97 with eight five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls. Yasir is only the sixth spinner in history to take a 10-wicket haul at Lord’s, having achieved this feat in 2016 in the series against England which Pakistan tied 2-2.

Read More |Rohit Sharma plays poor shot in Adelaide, Twitter goes mad

The third and final Test is currently being dominated by Pakistan and they will look to clinch the series. New Zealand won the first Test by four runs while Pakistan bounced back in grand style in Dubai. A win for Pakistan will be their first series win against New Zealand for the first time since 2010.