Top five bowlers with most wickets in a calendar year
As 2017 cricket-season nears its end, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, with 81 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker this year across all formats. The figure is a tad disappointing as it hasn't gone above 100 in the past couple of years. Ashwin came close last year with 97. Here we take a look at top five bowlers with most international wickets in a calendar year.
The last triple digit wicket-taker
The last time a bowler crossed triple digit wickets figure was in 2013 when Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal picked up 111 wickets in 50 matches at an average of 21.93, which included four 5-wicket-hauls and two 10-wicket-hauls.
Lankan maverick Muralitharan at the top
Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan sits comfortably on top of the most international wickets in a calendar year list. The bowler, who also has the most international wickets (1347), occupies top two spots in the list. In 2001 he took 136 wickets in 45 matches, with an average of 19.98. Later in 2006, he took 128 in 40 matches, with 20.99 average.
This flamboyant Australian comes a close third
Australia's Shane Warne is second in this list. Unsurprisingly, Warne is the second best bowler of all time, after Muralitharan, in terms of career wicket numbers. Warne, in 1994, picked up 120 wickets in 39 matches, at an average of 19.32, which comprised of six 5-wicket-hauls and two 10-wicket-hauls. What makes Warne's appearance special is that he had made his debut only in 1992.
McGrath and Mitchell Johnson complete the top 5
Aussie bowlers dominate the top 5 list with fourth and fifth places also being occupied by them. Warne's contemporary, Glenn McGrath, and lethal fast bowler Mitchell Johnson take the fourth and fifth spots respectively in the list. In 1999, McGrath scalped 119 wickets in 41 matches at 20.23 average, and ten years later in 2009, Johnson took 113 in 47 matches at 28.18 average.
