It is typical of the understated manner in which Kagiso Rabada does about his work that he could smash an IPL record set by one of the greatest T20 bowlers of all time, the great Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga when he plays his final match this year for Punjab Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Both teams have been eliminated but Rabada needs just two wickets to reach his century having currently played in 62 matches for the Delhi Daredevils/Capitals between 2017 and 2021 and the Punjab Kings this season. That is a remarkable eight matches fewer than Malinga.
Malinga took his 100th wicket in his 70th match which, in turn, is a remarkable nine matches fewer than the man in third place, swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Even prolific wicket-taking legspinners Rashid Khan and Amit Mishra required 83 matches to reach the hundred landmark.
Whereas the greatest bowlers in ODI cricket generally average close to two wickets per game the benchmark for the best in T20 cricket is closer to one per game. Rabada’s strike-rate of a wicket every 14.32 balls in the IPL is truly astonishing.
Whereas bowlers with obvious ‘trick’ deliveries and ‘change-ups’, knuckle-balls and slower-ball bouncers, are frequently described as ‘skillful’, Rabada’s variations (of which there are many) are more subtle than most and often slip under the radar of both batsmen and commentators.
Having made his IPL debut in 2017 he missed the whole of the 2018 IPL with injury but enjoyed storming seasons in 2019 and 2020 when he took 25 and a record 30 wickets respectively.