Wasim Akram conquers all

On this day 21 years ago, Wasim Akram surpassed India's Kapil Dev to become the highest wickettaker in one-day internationals.

The left-arm bowling legend was a 28-year-old coming off the back of a World Cup winning performance in the 1992 World Cup, when Pakistan took on Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the final ODI of the five-match series on August 24, 1994.

Akram started the day level with Indian great Kapil Dev on 251 wickets. It took Wasim just four deliveries to surpass the record as Sanath Jayasuriya was trapped in front of his stumps on the very first ball that he faced.

Salim Malik's strike bowler, Akram, then went onto pick two more wickets to lead Pakistan to victory by 27 runs.

“I am proud to be a Pakistani to have this record. I hope to continue as long as I can, maybe another five or six years,” Wasim, who at the time featured in his 174th ODI (36 matches fewer than the Indian legend), was quoted as saying by cricinfo.com.

“However, for me taking wickets in Tests is the main cricket. If I get Test match wickets a lot it will be better than this.”

In response to Pakistan 187, the Islanders were dismissed for 160. Along with the match, Pakistan won the five-match series 4-1.

The left-armer also became the first bowler in cricketing history to achieve the milestone of 500 ODI wickets.

Commenting on Akram earlier this year, former Indian captain and all-rounder Dev said: “Wasim Akram is the best seam bowler of all times.”

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Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Wasim Akram became the highest wickettaker in ODIs 22 years ago. However, Wasim Akram surpassed Kapil Dev's record of 251 wickets 21 years ago on August 24, 1994. The error is regretted.