On this day 22 years ago in 1994, Kapil Dev broke Richard Hadlee's world record for most Test wickets when he claimed the scalp of Sri Lanka's Hashan Tillakaratne
On this day in 1994, Kapil Dev broke Richard Hadlee's world record for most Test wickets when he claimed the scalp of Hashan Tillakaratne with Sanjay Manjrekar taking the catch at forward short-leg.
It was exactly 22 years to the day, that the ‘Haryana Hurricane’, playing his 130th Test, claimed Tillkaratne's wicket in the third Test at Ahmedabad to reach the landmark figure of 432 wickets.
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Interstingly, it also happened to be skipper Mohammed Azharuddin’s birthday.
#OnThisDay in 1994, @therealkapildev broke Richard Hadlee's World Record for most Test wickets pic.twitter.com/dmDqAWLHhK
— ICC (@ICC) February 8, 2016
India won the match and whitewashed Sri Lanka by 3-0 in the Test series.
The moment Kapil Dev achieved the world record, the ground staff released 432 balloons and the legend got a minute’s standing ovation. Doordarshan then stopped the telecast and played a tribute song for Kapil Dev.
The Test at Motera stadium proved to be his second last and the 35-year-old ended his illustrious career with 434 victims from 131 matches.
But that's not all. The all-rounder had also scored 5248 runs in the longest format of the game.
Kapil Dev raises his arms after taking his 400th Test wicket during the fifth test against Australia in Perth 03 February 1992. Pic/AFP
Kapil held the record of being the highest wicket-taker till 2000 when West Indies legend Courtney Walsh overtook him. Walsh ended his careeer with an astounding 519 victims.
The current record-holder is Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with 800 wickets.
FOOTNOTE
Kapil Dev never missed playing a single test or one-day game on fitness grounds (except for his disciplinary ouster in the 3rd Test at Calcutta during the 1984/85 series against England).
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