Pakistan's new bowling recruit Hasan Ali has had a roaring start to his ODI career. He has raced to 50 wickets in just 24 ODIs to become the quickest Pakistani to get there. He eclipsed the previous record held by Waqar Younis (27 matches).
In ODI history, only three others - Ajantha Mendis (19 matches), Ajit Agarkar and Mitchell McClenaghan (both 23) - have got to the landmark in fewer games than Hasan, who achieved the milestone in the same number of games as Dennis Lillee.
Hasan, who made his debut against Ireland in August last year, had just 11 wickets after eight ODIs at 31.18 till the end of the 2016. This year, he's picked up 40 wickets in just 16 matches at 17.77. This has made him the highest wicket-taker in 2017.
No other bowler has picked up more wickets than Hasan since his debut. His average this year is the fifth-best among all fast bowlers who have picked up 40 or more wickets in a calendar year.
He picked up his third ODI five-for during the third match against Sri Lanka. That made him one of only nine bowlers to take three or more five-wicket hauls in a year. The last Pakistan fast bowler to do so was Azhar Mahmood, in 1999. That Hasan has three or more wickets in nine of his 16 ODIs indicates his consistency; he's been wicketless just once. He picked five consecutive three-wicket hauls, a streak that started at the Champions Trophy.
Hasan has been Pakistan's highest wicket-taker in five of last six series/tournaments, across England, Australia, West Indies and UAE. He was awarded the Player of the Series at the Champions Trophy, where he picked 13 wickets in Pakistan's victorious campaign. The only series among the last six where Hasan wasn't the highest wicket-taker was the three ODIs against West Indies in UAE last year. There, he was the most economical bowler of the series.
Hasan's shown great ability to be a wicket-taker in the middle overs. This year, he has 23 wickets between overs 11-40, at an average of 18.08 and economy of 4.35. He's the highest wicket-taker in middle overs among fast bowlers this year and second only to Rashid Khan (24 wickets) among all bowlers.
His percentage of dot balls (59.51) and average (18.08) are also the best among all fast bowlers who have delivered overs 40 overs this year. His economy in that phase is also the second-best among all fast bowlers who have bowled over 40 overs.
Hasan has been successful against both right and left-handers. He has picked 31 wickets of right-handed batsmen at average of 18.80 and 20 wickets of left-handed batsmen at 23.55. His economy has been nearly the same - 5.15 and 5.23 respectively.