Yasir Shah becomes fastest bowler to take 200 Test wickets

Breaking an 82-year-old record, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah on Thursday became the fastest bowler in the world to reach the milestone of scalping 200 Test wickets.

Shah achieved the feat on Day Four of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand. It was the opposition's night watchman Will Somerville who became his 200th Test wicket, GeoTV reported.

Earlier, the record was held by former Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett who had scalped 200 wickets in 36 Tests. Shah, on the flip side, did the same in just 33 Test matches.

The right-arm bowler had produced a rich vein of form during their second Test against New Zealand where he scalped a total of 14 wickets helping his side to level the series 1-1. His figures of 14 for 184 in the match were the second best for Pakistan in Test cricket after their legendary pacer Imran Khan who had scalped 14 wickets for 116 runs against Sri Lanka in 1982.

Shah is also the fastest Pakistani bowler to take 50 Test wickets (nine Tests). He achieved the 100 Test wickets figure in just 17 matches, a feat second only to English bowler George Lohmann (16 Tests).

Riding on the back of his recent performance, Shah also witnessed a jump in his International Cricket Council (ICC) players' ranking. He is back in top 10 of the ICC Test bowlers' ranking list having attained the tenth spot.