Rabada finishes as top Test wicket-taker in 2018

Cape Town - World No 1 Test bowler Kagiso Rabada finished as the top performing bowler in Test cricket this year.

READ: Rabada, Markram lead the way for Proteas on 2018 Test stage

Rabada ended 2018 with a staggering 52 Test wickets at an average of 20.07 to finish top of the pile in South Africa and the world.

Behind Rabada in the most Test wickets column is Sri Lanka spinner Dilruwan Perera, who claimed 50 wickets.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon (49), Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (48) and Indian seamer Mohammed Shami (47) rounded up the Top 5 Test bowlers for the year.

ALSO READ: Kohli, Rabada end 2018 atop ICC rankings

Next best Protea bowler was spinner Keshav Maharaj, who finished 16th best in 2018, with 34 wickets at 33.26.

Maharaj also finished with the best Test figures in an innings, when he took 9/129 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July.

Proteas wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock ended 2018 with the most Test dismissals (47) including 45 catches and two stumpings. Australian skipper Tim Paine claimed second with 43 dismissals.

The best South African batsman in 2018 was Aiden Markram who scored 672 runs in 10 Tests - he finished ninth overall with Indian skipper Virat Kohli (1322) topping the 2018 runs list. 

The Proteas start 2019 off with the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands, which gets under way on Thursday.

Top performers of 2018 - Men's Tests

Most runs: @imVkohli - 1322
High score: @Tomlatham2 - 264* v Sri Lanka, Wellington
Most wickets: @KagisoRabada25 -52
Best figures: @keshavmaharaj16 - 9/129 v Sri Lanka, Colombo#BestOf2018 pic.twitter.com/qUbcOjRKL9

— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2018