Vaas joins 400-wicket club

Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas on Wednesday became the fourth bowler to take 400 career wickets in one-day international cricket.

Needing two wickets before the start of the ongoing one-day series against India to join the 400-club, Vaas, who took one in the first game at Dambulla, reached the coveted milestone dismissing Yuvraj Singh in his seventh over. Yuvraj was caught by Mahela Jayawardena at short mid-wicket during the 4th ODI against India at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

He joins Pakistani fast bowler and record holder Wasim Akram (502), Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran (478) and Waqar Younis (416) in the group to take 400 wickets. Vaas is also the only bowler in the world to grab eight wickets in an ODI, finishing with 8-19 off eight overs against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001.

The left-arm pacer has also taken two hat-tricks in 322 one-dayers - against Zimbabwe in Colombo seven years ago and Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa.

Since making his debut in 1994, Vaas has taken five or more wickets in an innings four times. In an illustrious career divning more than 14 years, the bowler has been through thick and thin with the Lankan side. He was also part of the 1996 World Cup winning team.

With age catching up, Vaas has had to cut down on pace relying more on accuracy and length and deceiving the batsmen by making use of the slower ball more often. He has, for long, been the fast bowling mainstay for the islanders ensuring that his team got the initial breakthrough on unresponsive sub-continent tracks. By becoming just the fourth bowler to
claim 400 ODI wickets, Vaas has guaranteed for himself a premier place in cricket's history.