Australia vs India 2018: Mohammad Shami Breaks Anil Kumble's Record Of Most Wickets In A Calendar Year

The Day 4 game at Perth will always remain special for Mohammad Shami for breaking quite a few special records. He was exceptional in picking his line and lengths to deliver the goods for Indian National Cricket Team. In one of those, he broke an all-time record set by Anil Kumble for Indian side in Test format of the game.

Anil Kumble was displaced by Mohammad Shami for bagging the most number of Test wickets in a calendar year on away tours. Back then, 12 years ago, Anil Kumble picked 41 wickets with a scintillating performance in overseas tours.

Mohammad Shami picked 42 wickets while Anil Kumble got 41:

After a fine period of time, Mohammad Shami rewrote the record with a fine spell at Perth. His remarkable 6-wicket haul saw him surpassing the legendary personality in Indian cricket. He achieved the record when he got better of Australian player Nathan Lyon.

Shami had a fantastic year, especially, in overseas games. He registered a couple of five-wicket hauls in those staggering numbers as well. The first one was against South Africa, which came on a winning note.

Shami took 15 wickets in three Tests in South Africa, 16 in five Tests in England and now 11 in two Tests in Australia. In total, Shami’s 42 wickets have come at an average of 27.07 apiece and a strike-rate of 48.06, from ten Tests.

Digging into Anil Kumble’s record, it saw him claiming 41 wickets in nine overseas Tests in 2006. He has the best figures of 6/78 at an average of 35.17 and strike-rate of 63.3. That haul of six wickets against West Indies at Kingston was his only bag of five or more that year.

Only Anil Kumble and Mohammad Shami are the two bowlers to cross 40-wicket tally in overseas Tests. The closest was Erapalli Prasanna, who picked 39 wickets in six Tests in 1968. Jasprit Bumrah is on the verge of breaking it, who also registered 39 wickets this year.