'Rolls-Royce of bowling': Kagiso Rabada hailed as he completes 350 Test wickets in Day of 3rd Test vs Australia

'Rolls-Royce of bowling': Kagiso Rabada hailed as he completes 350 Test wickets in Day of 3rd Test vs Australia originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . KEY TAKEAWAYS: South Africa star Kagiso Rabada reached 350 Test wickets on the final day at Newlands. He got there in 13,808 balls, fewer than any bowler in history. Rabada took two wickets in the first over of Australia 's chase. Rabada reaches 350 and takes Dale Steyn's record with him Australia began the final day at Newlands needing 288 to win the series, and the first over told them how it was going to go. Kagiso Rabada had Matt Renshaw caught behind by Ryan Rickelton off the third ball and trapped Marnus Labuschagne lbw three balls later, the review offering no reprieve. The milestone arrived in his fourth over. Travis Head went for 14, caught by Marco Jansen, and Rabada had his 350th Test wicket with Australia 20 for 3 and the celebrations starting around him. The number that matters most is the one beside it. Rabada needed 13,808 deliveries to reach 350, which is fewer than any bowler has taken, and the man he moved past is Dale Steyn on 14,719. He becomes the fourth South African to the mark, behind Steyn on 439, Shaun Pollock on 421 and Makhaya Ntini on 390. By matches, the 31-year-old got there in his 75th Test, second only to Steyn's 69 among South Africans and level with Malcolm Marshall on the all-time pace list. The same spell also made him the fifth South African to 600 international wickets, a tally that now stands at 601 from 260 matches. MORE: Last Australian captain to win Test series in South Africa: Full list as Pat Cummins faces Steve Smith's fate Cricket world reacts to Rabada's 350th Test wicket The reaction began with the comparison South African supporters reach for when Rabada is running in with a new ball. "The Rolls Royce of South African bowling. KAGISO RABADA!" Mondli Thwala wrote , posting it alongside an animation of the Rolls-Royce hood ornament. Others went to the scorecard, where three of Australia's top four had already gone back. "Rabada breathing fire at Newlands and picking up all three," one posted , noting that he was the second-fastest South African to the landmark by matches played. The sharpest point was about what the number might have been. "If South Africa played as much Test cricket as England or Australia do, Kagiso Rabada would comfortably have 600 Test wickets by now," one supporter argued . Plenty kept it simpler than that. "350 Test wickets for Kagiso Rabada, our premium bowler," one fan wrote . Analyst Ben Jones found the rarest detail of the morning, which was not the milestone at all but the manner of the start. "Rabada is the first bowler to take two wickets in the first over against Australia since Broad at Trent Bridge in 2015. Only the fourth bowler to do it ever," he posted . MORE: ‘Great career, Marnus, but it’s the end’: Ex-AUS stars pick top 7 for NZ series The Cricket News Opinion: The balls figure is the one that tells the story Reaching 350 in 75 Tests puts Rabada in good company. Reaching it in 13,808 balls, when Steyn needed nearly a thousand more, says something different, which is that he has taken a wicket every 39 deliveries across a decade without ever being used as a holding bowler. The complaint about South Africa's schedule has a point behind it too. Rabada is 31 and has played 75 Tests, where a bowler of comparable standing in England or Australia would be well past 100 by now, and the gap is a function of the fixture list rather than anything he has done. What this morning offered was the version of him that the record implies. Australia came in needing 288 on a pitch that had been good for batting all week, and inside seven overs Rabada had reduced them to 20 for 3 and a position they have not recovered from. For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook , Instagram , and X (Twitter) pages.