Ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cannot stop creating records. During the ongoing fourth Test against England in Ranchi, Ashwin surpassed veteran Anil Kumble on an elite list of Indian players with the most wickets on home soil. The moment came when he dismissed Ollie Pope on a first-ball duck trapped in the front in the second innings. With that, Ashwin registered his 351st Test wicket at home, although he dismissed first-inning centurion Joe Root soon after.
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Ashwin also became the fifth bowler in Test history after Muttiah Muralitharan, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Kumble to pick 350 or more wickets at home.
List of Indians with most Test wickets at home –
- Ravi Ashwin – 351 Wickets*
- Anil Kumble – 350 Wickets
- Harbhajan Singh – 265 Wickets
- Kapil Dev – 219 Wickets
- Ravindra Jadeja – 210* Wickets
- BS Chandrasekhar – 142 Wickets
- Bishan Singh Bedi – 137 Wickets
Meanwhile, after India got all out on 307 in the first innings, and with England leading by 46 runs, India needed early breakthroughs to keep them alive in this contest. Rohit Sharma gave Ravi Ashwin the new ball to get the damage done, and the veteran did that only.
Firstly, he removed opener Ben Duckett, caught at the short leg and then got Ollie Pope trapped in front on a first-ball duck, putting England on the backfoot straightaway. His dual strikes helped India gain little momentum as they kept Zak Crawley and Root quiet for a while.
Ravi Ashwin returned in his second spell to remove England’s first-inning centurion Root on 11. Though the on-field umpire had first adjudged it not out, it got overturned after replays showed the ball was hitting the leg stump. With that, Ashwin picked the third wicket of the day.
Ashwin back in form
Ravi Ashwin made headlines in Rajkot after picking his record 500th Test wicket, becoming the second Indian after Anil Kumble to achieve this feat. He also became the third off-spinner after Murali and Aussies Nathan Lyon to get there.
However, in the larger picture, Ashwin lacked the zeal with which he threatened touring teams over the years. Before this innings, Ashwin had picked just 12 wickets in four Tests, including one for 83 in the first innings.
Picking his form at the right time, Ashwin bagged three wickets, presenting India with a chance of making a comeback in this Test.
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