# List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar, a Pakistani former cricketer, took 16 five-wicket hauls during his career in international cricket. A five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of October 2024, only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. A fast bowler who represented his country from 1997 to 2011, BBC described Shoaib as "one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game".
Shoaib made his Test debut in 1997 against the West Indies at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he took two wickets in the first innings. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against South Africa, a match Pakistan won at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban. Shoaib took a pair of five-wicket hauls against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington in December 2003. His career-best figures for an innings were 6 wickets for 11 runs against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, in May 2002. Shoaib took twelve five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and ten or more wickets per match twice in the format.
Having made his One Day International (ODI) debut in October 1998 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Shoaib's first five-wicket haul came against New Zealand in 2001, a match Pakistan won at the Eden Park, Auckland. His best bowling performance in ODIs was 6 wickets for 16 runs against New Zealand at the National Stadium, Karachi, in December 2001. Shoaib played 19 Twenty20 Internationals for Pakistan, however he never took a five-wicket haul in this format. He retired from international cricket after the 2011 Cricket World Cup. As of 2014, he is sixth in the list of five-wicket haul takers for Pakistan, all formats of the game combined.

## Key

| Symbol | Meaning |
| Date | Day the Test started or ODI held |
| Inn | Innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken |
| Overs | Number of overs bowled in that innings |
| Runs | Runs conceded |
| Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
| Econ | Bowling economy rate (average runs per over) |
| Batsmen | Batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul |
| Result | Result for Pakistan in that match |
| * | One of two five-wicket hauls by Shoaib in a match |
| † | 10 wickets or more taken in the match |
| ‡ | Shoaib was selected as man of the match |

## Tests

Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Shoaib Akhtar :
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
| 1 | 28 February 1998 | Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban | South Africa | 2 | 12 | 43 | 5 | 3.58 | Jacques Kallis Andrew Hudson Mark Boucher Lance Klusener Fanie de Villiers | Won |
| 2 | 5 March 2000 | Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar | Sri Lanka | 1 | 24.3 | 75 | 5 | 3.06 | Marvan Atapattu Sanath Jayasuriya Romesh Kaluwitharana Pramodya Wickramasinghe Muttiah Muralitharan | Lost |
| 3 | 31 January 2002 ‡ | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah (neutral venue) | West Indies | 4 | 16 | 24 | 5 | 1.50 | Daren Ganga Chris Gayle Wavell Hinds Mervyn Dillon Cameron Cuffy | Won |
| 4 | 1 May 2002 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | New Zealand | 2 | 8.2 | 11 | 6 | 1.32 | Mark Richardson Matt Horne Stephen Fleming Chris Harris Brooke Walker Chris Martin | Won |
| 5 | 3 October 2002 | P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo | Australia | 3 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 2.62 | Ricky Ponting Mark Waugh Steve Waugh Adam Gilchrist Shane Warne | Lost |
| 6 | 27 August 2003 † ‡ | Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar | Bangladesh | 1 | 22.5 | 50 | 6 | 2.18 | Javed Omar Mohammad Ashraful Alok Kapali Khaled Mashud Khaled Mahmud Mohammad Rafique | Won |
| 7 | 26 December 2003 * † ‡ | Basin Reserve, Wellington | New Zealand | 1 | 30.3 | 48 | 5 | 2.34 | Lou Vincent Stephen Fleming Scott Styris Robbie Hart Ian Butler | Won |
| 8 | 26 December 2003 * † ‡ | Basin Reserve, Wellington | New Zealand | 3 | 18 | 30 | 6 | 1.66 | Mark Richardson Lou Vincent Richard Jones Scott Styris Robbie Hart Ian Butler | Won |
| 9 | 20 October 2004 | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | Sri Lanka | 1 | 19 | 60 | 5 | 3.15 | Marvan Atapattu Kumar Sangakkara Thilan Samaraweera Chaminda Vaas Dilhara Fernando | Lost |
| 10 | 16 December 2004 | WACA Ground, Perth | Australia | 1 | 22 | 99 | 5 | 4.50 | Matthew Hayden Darren Lehmann Michael Clarke Jason Gillespie Michael Kasprowicz | Lost |
| 11 | 26 December 2004 | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | Australia | 2 | 27 | 109 | 5 | 4.03 | Matthew Hayden Ricky Ponting Darren Lehmann Shane Warne Michael Kasprowicz | Lost |
| 12 | 29 November 2005 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | England | 3 | 19 | 71 | 5 | 3.73 | Marcus Trescothick Michael Vaughan Ian Bell Geraint Jones Liam Plunkett | Won |

## One Day Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in ODI cricket by Shoaib Akhtar :
| No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
| 1 | 17 February 2001 ‡ | Eden Park, Auckland | New Zealand | 1 | 6.3 | 19 | 5 | 2.92 | Jacob Oram Lou Vincent Daniel Vettori James Franklin Daryl Tuffey | Won |
| 2 | 21 April 2002 ‡ | National Stadium, Karachi | New Zealand | 2 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 1.77 | Craig McMillan Jacob Oram Robbie Hart Andre Adams Ian Butler Brooke Walker | Won |
| 3 | 19 June 2002 ‡ | Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane | Australia | 2 | 8 | 25 | 5 | 3.12 | Ricky Ponting Damien Martyn Darren Lehmann Michael Bevan Jason Gillespie | Won |
| 4 | 12 December 2005 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | England | 1 | 8.4 | 54 | 5 | 6.23 | Marcus Trescothick Andrew Strauss Geraint Jones Ian Blackwell Liam Plunkett | Won |