Ravichandran Ashwin, on Thursday (February 9), added yet another feather to his illustrious cap when he picked up his first wicket in the ongoing first Test between India and Australia at the VCA Stadium Nagpur.
It was his 450th wicket in the longest format of the game. The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has now become just the second player from India to take 450 or more Test wickets. The first player to do so is former India spin spearhead Anil Kumble who bowed out of the game with a record 619 wickets.
Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the incredible feat when he dismissed Alex Carey during the second session of day one of the Test. Carey went for a reverse sweep but failed to make a good contact with the ball and ended up dragging it to the stumps.
The 36-year old has also become the second fastest to achieve the feat of 450 Test wickets. The record is held by Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker of all time Muttiah Muralitharan. While it took Ravichandran Ashwin 89 Tests to claim his 450th Test wicket, the legendary Sri Lankan had done it in his 80th Test.
Ravichandran Ashwin creates history:
Ravichandran Ashwin’s feat of 450th Test wicket also helped him create history. The India star has become the first-ever player from Asia to score 3000 or more Test runs and pick up 450 Test wickets.
While Asia has given the world of cricket some legendary allrounders like Kapil Dev and Imran Khan but even they could not achieve this rare feat.
Talking about the ongoing game, India are firmly on top of the proceedings. Australia has not really managed to capitalise on their decision of batting first after winning the toss. At the time of compiling this report, they were reeling at 174 for 8 after 60 overs.