5 lesser known records held by Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan is definitely one of the most beloved cricketers to have donned the blue. From moving the ball on his reverse swings to moving his leg on dance shows, he has won many hearts. He shot to fame through his stellar swing bowling and his handy batting skills and in the process, gave cricket lovers many moments to rejoice.

Irfan Pathan has registered himself as one of the best pacers to have played for the Indian Cricket Team after the 2000s. His early wicket-taking capability and meaningful contributions from the ball (and bat) have etched many memories. Not to forget, the frequent claims from the media and experts as him being the best all-rounder to have played for the Indian national team since Kapil Dev. He has been a crucial part in major series victories of the Indian team in the first decade of this millennium. And in this process, Pathan Junior has created many records in his illustrious career. We take a look at some of the lesser known records and figures

#1) He is the fastest Indian to take 100 wickets in ODI

In 2006, playing his 59th ODI for India, Irfan Pathan took the 100th wicket of his career in the match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. This gave him the coveted title of reaching the 100 wicket milestone in the least number of matches by an Indian cricketer. Previously, Zaheer Khan held this record when he claimed his 100th wicket in his 65th match. Overall, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan currently holds the record for taking the fastest 100 wickets in 44 matches.

Not only in ODIs, Irfan Pathan is also the second fastest Indian pacer to claim 100 wickets in Tests too. 24-year-old Pathan took the wicket of Brett Lee in the Adelaide Test of 2008 playing just his 28th Test match. With this wicket, he joined the elite list of bowlers to have picked up 100 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. Only legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev reached the 100 wicket mark quicker for a fast bowler. He took his 100th wicket in his 25th Test.

#2) He is the only player to have taken a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match

No Indian cricket fan can forget this moment- the decider match in Karachi after playing two draws, the arch-rivals are locking horns one last time. India wins the toss and puts Pakistan to bat. The left arm sultan of swing is handed the ball. After playing three dot balls, Salman Butt edges and hands a catch to Rahul Dravid in the slips. Next comes Younis Khan, who is totally puzzled by the next Pathan delivery. Up goes Simon Taufel's finger. LBW out. Hat-trick ball, Mohammed Yousuf on strike. Pakistan have already lost two wickets before the first over and with zero runs on board. And the next ball, the bails go off in full glory just like Irfan Pathan who is gloriously celebrating his hat-trick. Yousuf is clean bowled.

0-3 after first over. However, to end the story, Pakistan fought back and won the Test match in the end- quite an interesting outcome after succumbing to a hat-trick in first over of the game.

He also became the second Indian bowler after Harbhajan Singh to have taken a hat-trick in Test cricket.

#3) He is among the bowlers with most maiden overs in IPL

Moving aside from international cricket for a while, let's take a look at the Indian Premier League. Having picked up 80 wickets, Pathan is a seasoned bowler in IPL too. Not only his wicket-taking abilities with his swing bowling are worth a look, but also his ability to contain runs. He has bowled 10 maiden overs in IPL. Only Pravin Kumar with 14 maiden overs is ahead.

Irfan Pathan also holds the dubious distinction of playing for the most number of IPL franchises among Indians. He has played for six different teams since the inaugural edition of IPL. Indian wicket-keepers Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik share this record with him.

#4) He holds the best bowling figures in an Under-19 Youth ODI

Irfan Pathan was rewarded with a slot in the national team at a very young age for his outstanding performances which began to show from his under-19 days. One such performance by him for India U19 against their Bangladeshi counterparts is still there at the top of the record books. He took 9 wickets in his 7.5 overs and conceded just 16 runs which included 3 maiden overs. This happened way back in 2003 and the record stays unbroken till today.

Apart from playing for the Indian national team since the under-19 phase and various IPL teams, Pathan also had a brief stint with Middlesex in England. Irfan Pathan has always been a big-match player. He was the Man of the Match in the 2007 World T20 final against Pakistan and played an important role in the Indian victory over Australia in semi-finals too.

#5) He won the inaugural ICC Emerging Player of the Year Award

The first edition of the ICC Awards in 2004 saw some big names adding feathers to their caps. While Rahul Dravid bagged the most-coveted Cricketer of the Year Award. One such anticipated award was to be given to the most promising new player in the international circuit. Backed by his recent good performances thanks to his ability to swing the new ball and his aggressive batting, Irfan Pathan emerged as the winner.

He continued to impress the critics and audience alike and was awarded a berth in the ODI World one-day XI in 2006 along with MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh from India. Not only this, he has won the Man of the Match award for 13 times (4 Test, 7 ODI, and 2 T20) and Man of the Series in Tests twice.