List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis, a retired Pakistani cricketer, took 35 five-wicket hauls during his career in international cricket. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")[1] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[2] and only 41 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3][4] A right-arm fast bowler who represented his country between 1989 and 2003, the BBC described Waqar as "one of the most feared fast bowlers in recent cricketing history",[5] while former Pakistan captain Imran Khan said that Waqar was "a thinking cricketer and, at his peak, he was the most destructive bowler the game had seen".[6] The cricket almanack Wisden noted his "pace and swing", and named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1992.[7] Waqar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on 9 December 2013.[8][9]

Former Pakistan captain, Waqar Younis

Waqar made his Test debut in 1989 against India in Karachi,[10] where he took four wickets in the first innings. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against New Zealand in a match which Pakistan won at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.[11] He took a pair of five-wicket hauls in a single match against Zimbabawe at the Defence Stadium, Karachi in December 1993.[12] His career-best figures for an innings were 7 wickets for 76 runs against New Zealand at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, in October 1990.[13] He went on to take ten or more wickets per match on five occasions.[14]

Making his One Day International (ODI) debut in October 1989 against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium (Sharjah),[15] Waqar's first ODI five-wicket haul came the following year against Sri Lanka in a match which Pakistan won at the Sharjah.[16] He achieved a hat-trick (three wickets in consecutive deliveries), against New Zealand in 1994.[17] His career-best bowling in ODI cricket was 7 wickets for 36 runs, against England at Headingley in June 2001.[18] He took three consecutive five-wicket hauls in ODI matches in November 1990.[19] Retiring from international cricket in 2003 after nearly 14 years,[20] Waqar took 22 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and 13 in ODIs. As of November 2020, he is joint sixth (with Rangana Herath) overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers,[21] and top of the equivalent ODI list.[4]