Ravichandran Ashwin showed his true class by picking two wickets in the ongoing test in Indore against Bangladesh at a pitch which did not have much for the spinners. R. Ashwin is generally judged by his performance oversees but one needs to understand that bowlers like Kagiso Rabada proved too ordinary in Indian condition so it will be harsh to judge the Indian spinner by his record oversees.
Ashwin joins elite club including Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan
In the Test match being played under the World Test Championship, Ashwin took his 250th wicket at home ground on Thursday, after he dismissed visiting captain Mominul Haque on 37. With this wicket, he has now become the third Indian bowler to achieve this feat after Harbhajan Singh(265) and Anil Kumble(350).
Not only this, Ashwin has now become the third player to take the fastest 50 Test wickets at home. He achieved this feat in 42 games,. Sri Lankan veteran Muttiah Muralitharan is the forefront in this list, who achieved this feat in just 40 matches. India’s veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble(41 matches) is in second place in this list.
Ashwin is also the fourth highest wicket taker for India in test cricket with 357 wickets. The numero uno position is acquired by Anil Kumble with 619 wickets followed by “the great” Kapil Dev with 434 wickets and Harbhajan Singh with 417 wickets.
Match report
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision was proven wrong as a formidable Indian pace attack wrecked havoc of the visitors. Ishant, Shami and Umesh picked one wicket each as Bangladesh were 31-3 at one stage. Skipper Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim added 68 runs for the fourth wicket to put claw their way back in the game.
However, Ashwin was introduced to the attack and dismissed Mominul, which turned out to be his 250th scalp at home. Ashwin further picked the wicket of Mahmudullah after which Liton Kumar Das and Mushfiqur showed some resistance. A returning Shami removed both the batsman before the tea to put India in the drivers seat.
At 140/7, Bangladeshi tail could not do much as they were dismissed on 150 runs in the first innings. Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin and Umesh Yadav picked two wickets each while Mohammed Shami picked three wickets.