Ravi Ashwin. (Photo Source: BCCI)
Team India’s star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went into the record books after claiming his 688th international wicket during the third Test in Indore. His delivery to dismiss Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey made him India’s third leading wicket-taker in international cricket behind iconic spin bowling duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
Australia started the second day in Indore without losing any wicket in the first hour of play. However, Ravichandran Ashwin drew the first blood for India on the second day after ending Peter Handscomb’s defiance. While Umesh Yadav ensured India’s dominance in the morning session with a fiery spell from the other end, Ashwin pegged back the Aussies with the wicket of Alex Carey.
Carey’s wicket meant that the wily off-spinner surpassed iconic Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev’s tally of 687 wickets to become the country’s third-highest wicket-taker in international cricket. He went on to scalp three wickets in the second innings of the match, taking his tally to 689 wickets. He is now only behind the iconic Indian spinners Anil Kumble (953) and Harbhajan Singh (707) in the list of leading wicket-takers for India.
The 36-year-old has been an ever-present figure in the red-ball side and out of his 689 wickets, 466 have come in the longest format of the game for India. His record isn’t as flattering in the shorter formats of the game, but he was a handful in white-ball cricket as well, scalping 151 wickets in ODIs and 72 wickets in T20Is.
Earlier, the bowling all-rounder usurped England’s veteran pacer James Anderson to establish himself at the no. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. Ashwin’s spin bowling partner Ravindra Jadeja also created a piece of history after he became only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to complete the double of 5000 runs and 500 wickets in international cricket on the first day of the Indore Test.
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