A look at Ravichandran Ashwin's memorable milestones in Test cricket
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently became only the fourth Indian to take 400 wickets in Test cricket. He achieved the milestone on Day 2 of the Day/Night Test against England that India won by 10 wickets. Overall, Ashwin became the 16th player in Test history with 400 wickets, and the second-fastest to do so after Muttiah Muralitharan. Here are his memorable milestones.
A dream start to Test cricket
Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He finished with nine wickets as India claimed a five-wicket victory. With this, Ashwin became just the third Indian to claim the Player of the Match award on Test debut. He finished the series as the leading wicket-taker (22), and was named Player of the Series for the same.
Fastest Indian to 100, 200 and 300 Test wickets
Mere two years later, Ashwin plundered his 100th scalp in Test cricket, becoming the fastest Indian to attain the feat (18 matches). In 2016, Ashwin became the fastest Indian to take 200 Test wickets (37 matches), eclipsing Harbhajan Singh's record (46). He scripted history a year later as he became the fastest-ever to complete 300 Test wickets (54 matches).
Fourth Indian with 400 Test scalps
Ashwin is now the fastest Indian to 400 Test wickets (77) and second-fastest overall after Muttiah Muralitharan (72). He is only the fourth Indian after Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417) to do so.
Most Test wickets since his debut
Ashwin has truly ruled the roost after bursting on to Test cricket. Since his debut, he has topped the charts in terms of Test wickets (401 wickets at an average of 24.95). Others on the tally are Nathan Lyon (391) , Stuart Broad (385), James Anderson (371) and Rangana Herath (323). The stunning numbers show his dominance in the longest format.
Ashwin completes 600 international wickets
During the Motera Test, Ashwin achieved another significant milestone. He became only the fifth bowler to take 600 or more wickets in international cricket. He (603) is only behind Kumble (956), Harbhajan (711), Dev (687) and Zaheer Khan (610) in the elite club.
A look at Ashwin's other feats
In the second Test against England, Ashwin registered a century and five-for in the same Test second-most times (3) after Ian Botham (5). He also surpassed Harbhajan in terms of Test wickets (265) at home. Interestingly, Ashwin is the second player in world cricket to have recorded 400 wickets and five or more centuries (Tests) after Kapil Dev (eight centuries and 434 wickets).
