Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Abbas is aiming to become the quickest fast bowler in the country to reach fifty Test wickets mark on the final day of the first Test against Australia on Thursday (October 11).

Having already picked up seven wickets in the series opener Test in Dubai, Abbas is in line to emulate Yasir Shah’s milestone in only his ninth Test match and become the fastest Pakistan fast bowler to reach the 50 Test wickets mark, as the 28-year-old needs one more scalp to achieve the landmark.

He rattled the Australians with his reverse swing by taking a triple strike in the second innings to help Pakistan to take a firm grip on the match on the fourth day at the Dubai International Stadium, with Tim Payne’s men finishing the day at 136/3 while chasing an improbable target of 462 runs.

Abbas told reporters after Day 3 play, “I wanted to be the quickest fast bowler [from Pakistan] to fifty Test wickets. Yasir Bhai from Pakistan has the record for the quickest, but my eyes are on the record for the pace bowlers. I have checked that from Pakistan it is Waqar [Younis] bhai, [Mohammad] Asif bhai, and Shabbir [Ahmed] bhai in 10 matches. I want to better their record. I have one wicket left and I will try my best to do that. If not, I just want to bowl in a way that helps the team win.”

On being asked about his bowling, the pacer said, “I did bowl on the right areas and that is the key factor of my bowling. A player should know his strengths. I try to take wickets with the new ball. If the conditions are like the ones here, I try to bowl at my line and length and put a lid on the flow of runs. When the ball starts to reverse, I attack the opposition.”

Abbas signed off by saying, “When the ball starts to reverse, I try to attack then. I have been successful so far. If you talk about pace, my fastest ball here was 138.1km/h and my average speed is 130. I am happy with my speed. But I want to keep on working on my fitness to become a better bowler.”

(Input: Cricbuzz)