- Sunday, April 20, 2025
The 37-year-old entered the elite club when he dismissed England opener Zak Crawley after the latter gave his side a solid start with Ben Duckett.
By: Shubham Ghosh
VETERAN India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whose on-the-pitch run earlier on the second day of the third Test match against England in Rajkot saw his team getting penalised by the on-field umpires, reclaimed glory in the second half of the day by claiming his 500th Test wicket.
The 37-year-old became the fastest Indian and the second-fastest in the world to enter the 500 club, after Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan who finished with 800 scalps in the long format. Ashwin took 98 matches to reach 500 Test wickets as against Muralitharan’s 98.
Among the Indians, he eclipsed former captain and leg spinner Anil Kumble who took his 500th wicket in the 105th game. Kumble is the highest wicket taker among Indians in Tests with 619 scalps. Ashwin is the first Indian off-spinner and third in the world, after Australia’s Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon to become a member of the prestigious club. He has 34 five-wicket and 24 four-wicket hauls in the long format.
Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on the extraordinary milestone of taking 500 Test wickets! His journey and accomplishments are testament to his skill and perseverance. My best wishes to him as he scales further peaks. @ashwinravi99
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 16, 2024
Read: Why England started from 5 for no loss in third Test vs India
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ashwin in a tweet, calling his feat an “extraordinary milestone”
Among other bowlers who reached 500 Test wickets are: Warne (708), James Anderson (696), Stuart Broad (604), Glenn McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519) and Lyon (517).
Ashwin, who was left stranded on 499 wickets at the end of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, eventually picked the prized scalp when he dismissed opener Zak Crawley who was caught at short fine leg by Rajat Patidar when the batter tried to play a sweep shot.
Read: Twin tons from Rohit, Jadeja help India overcome early troubles vs England
England nevertheless continued to give India’s first innings total of 445 a solid chase with opener Ben Duckett hitting a hundred. Crawley, who scored half centuries in both innings in the previous Test, added 89 runs with Duckett. After his dismissal, Duckett added 93 runs with Ollie Pope (39) when seamer Mohammed Siraj claimed the latter in an lbw dismissal.
