India showcased a brilliant performance against Bangladesh in the first Test match, led by spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin. The 38-year-old spinner, ranked World No. 1 in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking, bowled excellently in the second innings taking six wickets for 88 runs as India bowled out Bangladesh for 234 runs and registered a massive win by 280 runs in the first Test of the series. Besides his bowling acumen, Ashwin was also in the news for his batting prowess. He scored 113 runs off 133 balls to lead the scoring for the Indian team captained by Rohit Sharma in the first knock.
Due to his all-round performance in the Chennai Test, Ashwin was awarded the Player of the Match. The veteran cricketer who has played 101 Tests set many records in the first Test and even in the second Test that is set to commence from Friday (September 27) at Green Park, Kanpur, he stands a chance to set many more records.
Ashwin has played 7 tests against Bangladesh and has taken 29 wickets so far. He is 3 wickets away from exceeding Zaheer Khan’s record of highest wickets taken in tests played by India and Bangladesh.
Ashwin is one wicket away from being the first Indian as well as the sixth bowler in the world (besides Shane Warne (138), Nathan Lyon (119), Rangana Herath (115), Muttiah Muralitharan (106) and Glenn McGrath (103) to have taken one hundred wickets in the fourth innings of a Test Match) to achieve century of fourth innings wickets.
Over the course of nine matches, WTC 2023-25 Ashwin has picked up 48 wickets to date. Four more wickets will see him edge past Josh Hazlewood of Australia for the most wickets taken in this cycle.
Should Ashwin take five wickets during the second test, he will better Shane Warne’s record of 37 fivers in tests and will move to the second position in the list of bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls. At number one is Sri Lanka’s Muralitharan with 67 fivers.
In the 2nd Test against Bangladesh, Ashwin needs 8 wickets to overtake Nathan Lyon and set the record for most wickets taken in any Test World Championship.
If Ashwin, who has played 101 Tests and registered 522 wickets to his name, takes nine wickets in the Kanpur Test, he will surpass Lyon’s record of 530 wickets and become the 7th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history.
