South Africa fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada has played down the significance of statistics after picking 500 wickets in international cricket. India posted 208 for 8 at the end of Day 1 of their Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

SA vs IND, 1st Test Day 1 Scorecard

Rabada was a man on a mission as he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul against India and his 14^th in Test cricket. With this spell, Rabada also became just the seventh South African bowler to claim 500 international wickets. He joins Shaun Pollock (823), Dale Steyn (697), Makhaya Ntini (661), Allan Donald (602), Jacques Kallis (572) and Morne Morkel (535) in the elite list.

Speaking after the end of Day 1, Rabada said he’s hopeful that he can get many more wickets for South Africa, while playing down the importance of statistics. Rabada dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur on Day 1.

“Milestones are a great thing. When you’re young, you want to become the best. Statistics are a description of how you play and a metric to measure your quality. But at the end of the day, you can’t be too stats oriented. It’s literally just about going through your processes and whatever happens next is out of your control. Hopefully, I can get many more wickets for South Africa,” said Rabada.

Rabada’s spell helped the hosts apply pressure on the number 1 Test side in the world. However, a gritty half-century from KL Rahul got India back in the contest as they ended Day 1 with 208 for 8 on the scoreboard.

India are aiming to capture their final frontier in Test cricket, having never won a Test series in South Africa. India has played eight Test series in South Africa, losing seven and drawing one.