Dinesh Karthik lavished praise on his Tamil Nadu teammate, bracketing him alongside all-time greats of the sport. While Ravindra Jadeja headlined Virat Kohli’s 100th game in Mohali, Ravichandran Ashwin continued to make great strides in world cricket.
The seasoned off-spinner, playing in his 85th Test, went past the legendary Kapil Dev’s 434 Test scalps to become India’s second most successful bowler in the longest format. Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets had come from 131 matches. The legendary Anil Kumble tops the list with 619 scalps which he claimed in 132 Test matches.
Dinesh Karthik: Ravichandran Ashwin Arguably One Of The Best As He Puts In A Lot Of Effort
Ravichandran Ashwin took six wickets in the match, giving away 96 runs, and also put up a century stand with centurion Ravindra Jadeja (175*) in the first innings which helped India notch up a hefty 574 for eight on the scoreboard. Ravichandran Ashwin ended up scoring 61 with his willow, earning praise from fans and pundits for his all-round show against Sri Lanka.
Veteran India batter Dinesh Karthik also lavished praise on his Tamil Nadu teammate, bracketing Ravichandran Ashwin in the list of greatest players to have played the sport. The 35-year-old off-spinner has also gone past Rangana Herath (433) to move inside the world’s top 10 wicket-takers led by Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and late Australia great Shane Warne (708).
“Ashwin has been thrown a lot of challenges over a period of time… and he’s ended up overachieving it. He’s been second to none. Look at the speed at which he’s done it. He’s taken wickets against every team. For me, he’s a complete all-rounder and arguably one of the greatest sportsmen to have played the sport, ” Dinesh Karthik said.
“He’s been fabulous. He’s got runs with the bat when it matters the most. He’d scored a hundred recently against England on an absolute dust bowl. On his bowling, nine and a half left-handers would find playing Ashwin tough,” Dinesh Karthik said.
“I don’t think he’s got the most gifted body. But he puts in a lot of work. He is never going to be the fastest man on the field but he’s got bowling fitness. He will bowl you long spells. As you get tired, your revolutions on the ball get to decrease… but with Ashwin, his fingers don’t get tired that easily. If you give him 30 overs, you will see the ball turning the same amount in 25-28 overs,” Dinesh Karthik further added.
Ravichandran Ashwin became the second-best Indian bowler in Test cricket after he plucked the wicket of Charith Asalanka on the third day of the 1st Test.
Rohit Sharma Also Praised Ravichandran Ashwin For His Record-Breaking Feat
Skipper Rohit Sharma also hailed Ravichandran Ashwin as an “all-time great” after India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-game series.
“It’s a big thing in his cricketing career to achieve that feat. I have been watching Ashwin for a long time now, and every time I watch him, he seems to get better and better,” said Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy journey starts off with a thumping win. India almost had the perfect game; the new number three – Hanuma Vihari – scored a fifty, Rishabh Pant showed he is ever-improving and Ravindra Jadeja stamped his mark as the best allrounder in the format. Ravindra Jadeja became only the sixth man to score 150 or more and take a five-for in the same Test.
Ravichandran Ashwin went past Kapil Dev as the second-highest wicket-taker for India. In the process, Sri Lanka collapsed under the weight of a relentless India attack and lost within three days. Ravindra Jadeja, who ended one wicket short of becoming the first man to score 150 or more in Test innings and take 10 wickets in the same match, ended his third straight Mohali Test as the Player of the Match.
India 574 for 8 dec. (Jadeja 175*, Pant 96, Ashwin 61, Vihari 58) beat Sri Lanka 174 (Nissanka 61*, Jadeja 5-41) and 178 (Dickwella 51*, Jadeja 4-46, Ashwin 4-47) by an innings and 222 runs