During the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, Blessing Muzarabani equalled the Zimbabwean record for the quickest to 50 Test wickets.
Muzarabani came into the Test match with 41 wickets under his belt. In the first innings, he took 3-50 to help Zimbabwe bowl out Bangladesh for 191. Zimbabwe then secured an 82-run lead after multiple rain-induced delays, before Muzarabani ran through Bangladesh in the second innings.
This time he claimed 6-72, the second-best overseas innings figures for Zimbabwe in Test cricket, after Douglas Hondo’s 6-59 against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2004/05. Muzarabani’s 9-122 are also their second-best match figures away from home, after Heath Streak’s 9-72 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1999/00 – a Test match where the hosts famously defended 99.
Blessing Muzarabani equals Jasprit Bumrah, Heath Streak
It is worth a mention that Muzarabani’s 7-58 earlier this year against Ireland at Bulawayo are the best innings figures by a Zimbabwean fast bowler. Muzarabani also became the second Zimbabwean (after Streak) to take three six-wicket hauls in the format. Unlike Muzarabani, however, Streak never took seven in an innings.
The 28-year-old also equalled Streak’s national record of reaching 50 wickets in only his 11th Test. Other notable bowlers to reach the milestone in their 11th Tests include Jack Gregory, Sonny Ramadhin, Jeff Thomson, Allan Donald, Harbhajan Singh, Saeed Ajmal, and Jasprit Bumrah. The world record still lies with Charlie Turner, who took only six Tests to get there.
Fastest to 50 wickets in men’s Test cricket
Updated on April 23, 2025
| Tests | Bowlers |
| 6 | Charlie Turner (AUS) |
| 7 | Tom Richardson (ENG), Vernon Philander (SA), Prabath Jayasuriya (SL) |
| 8 | Fred Spofforth (AUS), Alf Valentine (WI), Rodney Hogg (AUS), Terry Alderman (AUS) |
| 9 | Bobby Peel (ENG), JJ Ferris (AUS/ENG), Syd Barnes (ENG), Arthur Mailey (AUS), Maurice Tate (ENG), Frank Tyson (ENG), Peter Pollock (SA), Andy Roberts (WI), Colin Croft (WI), Stuart MacGill (AUS), R Ashwin (IND), Yasir Shah (PAK), Kyle Jamieson (NZ) |
| 10 | Joey Palmer (AUS), George Lohmann (ENG), Wilfred Rhodes (ENG), Jack Saunders (AUS), Tich Freeman (ENG), Clarrie Grimmett (AUS), Bert Ironmonger (AUS), Bill O'Reilly (AUS), Bill Johnston (AUS), Fred Trueman (ENG), Wes Hall (WI), Ken Higgs (ENG), Dennis Lillee (AUS), Ian Botham (ENG), Joel Garner (WI), Waqar Younis (PAK), Anil Kumble (IND), Shabbir Ahmed (PAK), Mohammad Asif (PAK), Stuart Clark (AUS), Mohammad Abbas (PAK) |
| 11 | Bert Vogler (SA), Bill Whitty (AUS), Jack Gregory (AUS), Sonny Ramadhin (WI), Hugh Tayfield (SA), Khan Mohammad (PAK), Ashley Mallett (AUS), Max Walker (AUS), Jeff Thomson (AUS), Len Pascoe (AUS), Geoff Lawson (AUS), Narendra Hirwani (IND), Ian Bishop (WI), Allan Donald (SA), Heath Streak (ZIM), Dominic Cork (ENG), Harbhajan Singh (IND), Brett Lee (AUS), Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Abdur Rehman (PAK), Shane Shillingford (WI), Dilruwan Perera (SL), Jasprit Bumrah (IND), Duanne Olivier (SA), Ollie Robinson (ENG), Ramesh Mendis (SL), Gus Atkinson (ENG), Sajid Khan (PAK), Blessing Muzarabani (ZIM) |
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