New Delhi: Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin achieved a big achievement on the third day of the second Test match of the series against New Zealand (IND vs NZ 2nd Test). As soon as Ashwin made the Kiwi team’s opener Will Young a victim in the second innings, he completed 50 wickets in the Test format this year. The special thing is that in one case he also left behind Indian veteran and former coach Anil Kumble.
Ravichandran Ashwin has now become the Indian bowler to take 50 or more wickets in Test format for the most number of times in a calendar year. This is the fourth time Ashwin has taken 50 or more wickets in a calendar year. He had earlier achieved this feat in 2015, 2016, and 2017. India’s most successful bowler Anil Kumble has done this amazing thrice. Kumble took 50 or more Test wickets in a year in 1999, 2004, and 2006.
Ashwin took 50 test wickets in 1 year 4 times
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also achieved this feat thrice. He took more than 50 Test wickets for two consecutive years in 2001 and 2002. After this, he did the same feat in the year 2008 as well. Former captain and veteran all-rounder Kapil Dev has achieved this feat twice in the years 1979 and 1983.
Apart from this, Ashwin can also break Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble’s record of taking 38 wickets in a Test at the Wankhede Stadium. He is one wicket away from it. Ashwin has taken 3 wickets in the second innings of the Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. With this, he has 37 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. In this list, Kapil Dev (28 wickets), Harbhajan Singh (24 wickets) are in third and fourth place.
Ashwin broke Harbhajan’s record in Kanpur
Ashwin has taken 4 wickets in the first innings of the Mumbai Test against New Zealand and 3 in the second so far. Earlier, he also took 6 wickets in the Kanpur Test. In this test, he broke Harbhajan Singh’s record of 417 wickets in Tests. He is now the third most successful bowler in India’s Tests after Anil Kumble (619 wickets) and Kapil Dev (434 wickets).
