3 fastest bowlers to 100 wickets in the IPL

T20 cricket is often dubbed to be the bowlers' graveyard, but the best in the business find a way to keep even the most destructive batters silent.

Bowlers who not only restrict the flow of runs but also take wickets at regular intervals are invaluable in the shortest format.

A total of 21 bowlers have taken 100 or more wickets in the IPL, with former CSK and MI bowler Dwayne Bravo leading the charts (183).

Here's a look at the three quickest bowlers to reach 100 IPL wickets:

3 fastest bowlers to claim 100 wickets in the IPL

#3 Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel became the fastest Indian bowler to complete 100 wickets in the IPL during the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2023 on Monday, April 10.

Harshal picked up two wickets in the final over to finish with figures of 4-0-48-2 in a narrow one-wicket loss against the Giants. Harshal Patel's 100th dismissal in the IPL came via a low full toss which crashed into Mark Wood's stumps.

The RCB medium pacer achieved the feat in 79 innings, two fewer than Bhuvneshwar Kumar (81 innings) to become the third fastest bowler to reach 100 IPL wickets.

Harshal won the Purple Cap in IPL 2021 with 32 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 14.34 and an economy rate of 8.14. He has picked 89 of his 101 IPL wickets for RCB, while the remaining 12 dismissals came for the Delhi Capitals.

#2 Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka's legendary pace bowler held the record of being the fastest bowler to claim 100 IPL wickets for almost a decade.

Lasith Malinga achieved the feat during the Mumbai Indians' match against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2013 in Dharamshala.

The yorker king dismissed Azhar Mahmood, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Praveen Kumar to finish with figures of 3/39 in his 70th IPL innings. Praveen Kumar was the 100th victim of the Sri Lankan pacer.

Malinga is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL (170 wickets) despite playing his last season in 2019. He played all 122 of his matches for MI across nine seasons.

#1 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada became the quickest bowler to reach 100 wickets in the IPL on April 13, 2023. He picked up the wicket of Gujarat Titans opening batter Wriddhiman Saha to complete 100 IPL scalps.

Rabada bettered Malinga's long-standing record as the fastest bowler to 100 IPL wickets. The South African pacer took 64 innings to attain the milestone, six fewer than Malinga.

The Johannesburg-born bowler made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals in 2017 and played for them until 2021. He claimed 76 wickets in 50 matches for the Capitals across four seasons and is currently their second-most wicket-taker behind Amit Mishra (110).

Rabada joined the Punjab outfit last season and was their highest wicket-getter in IPL 2022 with 23 wickets at an economy of 8.45.