Ravichandran Ashwin is the second Indian player to 500 wickets in a Test match; Second Fastest Ever
In Test cricket, he also becomes the second-fastest player to reach the benchmark with 98 Tests.
R Ashwin achieved the milestone of 500 Test wickets, making him the ninth player and only the second Indian to do so. After arriving in Rajkot on the second day, the 37-year-old offspinner dismissed England’s Zak Crawley in the last session. Having reached the milestone in his 98th Test, he is also the second-fastest to do it.
After England’s openers responded to India’s first-inning tally of 445 with an 89-run stand in just 13 overs, Ashwin’s 500th wicket came at a perfect moment for India. By having Crawley top-edge a sweep to Rajat Patidar at short fine leg, he ended the partnership.
India’s home dominance over the past ten years has been largely attributed to Ashwin, who made his debut for the country in November 2011. He has claimed 34 five-wicket hauls and eight match hauls of ten or more wickets overall. The only other Indian player with more wickets than Ashwin in Test cricket is Anil Kumble, with 619. Besides Nathan Lyon and Muthiah Muralidaran, he is only the third offspinner to reach the record.
In his fifth innings, Ashwin claimed his 500th wicket, his tenth in this series. With a strike rate of fifty, he has averaged roughly 34 runs per wicket. In the first Test in Hyderabad, he scored 3 for 68 and 3 for 126, while in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, he scored 0 for 61 and 3 for 72.
