New Delhi: On the very first day of the first match of the Test series against the West Indies, Rohit Sharma’s team India has tightened its grip on the host. R. Due to the brilliant performance of the Indian bowlers under the leadership of Ashwin, the Indian team’s first innings was reduced to just 150 runs in 64.3 overs. In response, Team India reached its score of 80 runs without losing a wicket till the end of the day’s play. At the time of stumps, Yashasvi Jaiswal was on 40 and captain Rohit Sharma was at the crease after scoring 30 runs.
The first day of the match was in the name of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He took 5 wickets for just 60 runs in his spell of 24.3 overs. With this ‘claw’ of his, he proved the Indian team management’s decision not to play him in the final of the World Test Championship (CC World Test Championship) wrong. In Test cricket, he has taken five or more wickets for the 33rd time.
R Ashwin (R. Ashwin) dismissed Alzarri Joseph and took the third wicket of this innings. With this, the Indian veteran also completed his 700 international wickets. Along with this, he left behind England’s star fast bowler James Anderson’s record of 5 Wickets Haul in Test cricket. Anderson has taken five or more wickets 32 times in 181 Tests while this is only his 93rd Test. Only Rangana Herath, Anil Kumble, Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne, and Muttiah Muralitharan are above Ashwin in taking five or more.
Ashwin completed 700 wickets in international cricket as soon as he took the third wicket in the form of Alzarri Joseph during the Indies innings. He now has 702 wickets in international cricket, including 479 in Test cricket, 151 in 113 ODIs, and 72 wickets in 65 T20Is.
Off-spinners are considered extremely lethal for left-handed batsmen. Due to the sufficient number of left-handers in the Australian team of the WTC final, Ashwin was being argued for a place in the playing XI but he did not find a place in the team. Of the five batsmen Ashwin dismissed in the first innings of the match against the Indies, two – Tegnarayan Chanderpaul and Alyque Anthose – are left-handed batsmen.
Ashwin achieved a different kind of achievement as soon as he dismissed Tagenarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies. He is one of the few bowlers in Test cricket who have dismissed father and son. Ashwin dismissed Tegnarayan’s father Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 2011. Apart from them, England’s Ian Botham (Lance and Chris Cairns), Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (Lance and Chris Cairns), Australia’s Mitchell Starc (Shivnarine and Tegnarayan Chanderpaul), and South Africa’s Simeon Harmer (Shivnarine and Tegnarayan Chanderpaul) have done so.
On the first day of the Test, Ashwin broke Anil Kumble’s record of bowling the opposition batsman for the most number of times while dismissing Tegnarayan. Kumble bowled 94 batsmen in his Test career while Ashwin has now done so 95 times. Kapil Dev is in the third position (88) in this matter.
