Pakistan has produced some of the finest and most prolific fast bowlers in cricket, who have always been one of their team’s strengths. From bowling at some extreme pace to swinging the ball in both directions, the Pakistani fast bowlers are some of the most skilled. In the following article, we will look at some of the Pakistani bowlers who picked up a wicket on the initial ball of an innings, all of whom are fast bowlers.
1. Fazal Mahmood In 1958
At number one on our list is Fazal Mahmood, a right-arm fast-medium bowler from Lahore, Punjab. Fazal first played for Pakistan in Test cricket in 1952 against India in Delhi. In 1958, he became the first Pakistani bowler to dismiss a batter the initial ball of a Test inning. He did so against the West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval, where Conrad Hunte was the batter to get out.
2. Wasim Akram In 1990
At number two, we have Wasim Akram, a left-arm fast bowler from Lahore, Punjab. Wasim first played a Test match for Pakistan in 1985 against New Zealand at Auckland. In 1990, in a Test match against the West Indies at Faisalabad, he picked up the wicket of Desmond Haynes on the first ball of an innings.
3. Imran Khan In 1987
At number three, we have Imran Khan, an ex-Pakistan captain and one of the best all-rounders produced by Pakistan. Imran batted as a right-handed middle-order batter and bowled right-arm fast. He played his first Test match for Pakistan against England in 1971 at Birmingham. In 1987, he took the wicket of Sunil Gavaskar on the first ball of an innings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
4. Waqar Younis In 2002
At number four on our list, we have Waqar Younis, a right-arm fast bowler from Vehari, Punjab, who made his debut in Test cricket in 1989 against India at Karachi. In 2002, in a Test match against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium, he dismissed Marvan Atapattu on the first ball of an innings.
5. Shoaib Akhtar In 2004
At number five, there is Shoaib Akhtar, the right-arm fast bowler from Rawalpindi, Punjab. Shoaib was first seen in international Test cricket in 1997 against the West Indies at Rawalpindi. In 2004, in a Test match against India at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, he got rid of the explosive Indian opening batter, Virender Sehwag, on the first ball of the innings.
6. Asif Masood In 1971
At number six, we have Asif Masood, the right-arm fast-medium bowler from Lahore, Punjab. Masood made his Test debut in 1969 against England at Lahore. He took the wicket of the English batter Brian Luckhurst on the first ball of an innings in 1971 in a Test match at Headingley.
7. Umar Gul IN 2009
At number seven, we have Umar Gul, the right-arm fast-medium bowler from Peshawar. Gul first played for Pakistan in Test cricket in 2003 against Bangladesh in Karachi. In 2009, in a Test match against Sri Lanka, he picked up the wicket of Malinda Warnapura on the first ball of the innings.
8. Wasim Akram In 1993
At number eight, we have Wasim Akram, the first-ever Pakistani bowler to dismiss a batter on the first ball of a Test inning twice. In 1993, in a Test match against Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, he took the wicket of Grant Flower on the first ball of the innings.
9. Mohammad Amir In 2009
At number nine on our list, we have Mohammad Amir, the left-arm fast bowler from Gujjar Khan, Punjab. From 2009 to 2019, Amir played in 36 Test matches for Pakistan & took 119 wickets at an average of 30.47. In 2009, he took the wicket of Timothy McIntosh on the first ball of the innings against New Zealand at the University Oval.
10. Umar Gul In 2011
At number ten, we have Umar Gul to feature again on our list. Gul is the only Pakistani bowler after Wasim Akram to dismiss a batter on the first ball of an innings twice. In 2011, in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Dubai, Gul scalped the wicket of Tharanga Paranavitana on the first ball of the innings.
