New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin made the best possible comeback as his 33rd five-wicket haul put India in the driver’s seat against a below-par West Indies on the first day of the opening Test, in Roseau, Dominica, on Wednesday.
Ashwin rose to sixth position in bowlers with most number of five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. Among Indian bowlers, former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble holds this record with 36 five-wicket hauls in Tests. The record for the most five-wicket hauls belongs to former Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with 67.
Ashwin also became the third Indian bowler to claim more than 700 wickets in international cricket on Wednesday. Ashwin wreaked havoc on the day-1 of the first Test against West Indies as he claimed his fifth 5-wicket haul against the Caribbean team. Ashwin joined an elite list which is dominated by the spinners.
“It was a oretty good performance. There was moisture in the pitch in the first session. It got slow and started to spin a bit more. It got a lot more slower. Personally enjoyed my first spell and had to adapt a bit more after. Not surprised with the pitch, expected it to be a bit dry. In my previous tours of West Indies, when it spins, it also tends to be slow,” Ashwin said after stumps on Day 1.
Most bowled dismissals
Ashwin became the Indian bowler with most bowled dismissals to his name in the longest format of the game. The off-spinner broke India legend Anil Kumble’s record, who had 94 bowled dismissals. Ashwin currently stands one ahead, castling the batters on 95 occasions so far. Among current players, Mohammed Shami (66) is the closest to Ashwin in the list.
5th five-wicket haul in IND vs WI Tests
Ashwin now finds himself in the elite list among bowlers with most five-wicket hauls in India vs West Indies Tests. Legendary Windies bowler Malcolm Marshall heads the list with six five-wicket hauls, while Ashwin is tied with Harbhajan Singh, with both having five five-wicket hauls under their name. This was the third time Ashwin completed a five-wicket haul on Caribbean soil.
700 international wickets
However, the biggest record out of the many was Ashwin completing 700 international wickets. The carrom-ball specialist achieved the feat after removing Alzarri Joseph, who was his third victim. Ashwin now has a total of 702 international wickets and is only behind Harbhajan and Kumble among the Indian bowlers.
While Kumble’s total stands at 956, he is very close to overtaking Harbhajan in the list. Harbhajan has a total of 711 international wickets under his name.
33rd five-wicket haul
Ashwin took his 33rd fifer in Test cricket which took him one ahead of England’s James Anderson. The spinner now has the sixth-highest number of five-wicket hauls in Tests. Additionally, among active cricketers, Ashwin has the most fifers.
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