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38-year-old Ashwin, who is India’s second-leading wicket-taker in Tests, has 188 wickets to his name now in 39 World Test Championship matches.
R Ashwin becomes leading wicket-taker in World Test Championship. (Picture Credit: AP)
Star Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who sits at No. 2 position in the ICC Test bowlers ranking, created history on Thursday (October 24) by becoming the leading wicket-taker in the World Test Championship (WTC). The 38-year-old spinner needed two wickets in Pune to break Nathan Lyon’s record of 187 wickets, and he achieved the feat by getting rid of Will Young for 18 runs.
Conway was caught by Rishabh Pant on the last ball of the 24th over of New Zealand’s innings.
Ashwin had earlier equalled Lyon’s record by dismissing New Zealand captain Tom Latham on the fifth ball of his first over. Latham, who scored 15 runs from 22 balls with the help of two fours, was trapped in front of the wickets by the legendary spinner.
Most wickets in World Test Championship
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 188*
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 187
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 175
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 147
- Stuart Broad (England) – 134
- Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) – 132
- Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 124*
- Tim Soutee (New Zealand) – 120
- James Anderson (England) – 116
- Ravindra Jadeja (India) – 114*
The two wickets so far in the match have also helped Ashwin equal Lyon’s record of 530 wickets in Test cricket and become the joint seventh leading wicket-taker in the five-day format of the game.
He will overtake Lyon if he manages to take one more wicket in the match. The overall record of dismissing most batters in Tests is in the name of Muttiah Muralitharan. During his playing days, the Sri Lankan spinner dismissed 800 batters. He is followed by Australia’s Shane Warne (708), England’s James Anderson (704), India’s Anil Kumble (619), England’s Stuart Broad (604) and Australia’s Glenn McGrath (563).
Most wickets in Test cricket
- Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) – 800
- Shane Warne (Australia) – 708
- James Anderson (England) – 704
- Anil Kumble (India) – 619
- Stuart Broad (England) – 604
- Glenn McGrath (Australia) – 563
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 530
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 530*
If Ashwin manages to take a five-wicket haul in the first inning of the ongoing Test at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium, then he will break Warne’s record of 37 fifers in Tests and take the No. 2 position in the list led by Muralitharan.
During his playing days, Muralitharan picked up five or more wickets in an innings on 67 occasions.
Ashwin was only able to take one wicket in the first Test against New Zealand, which India lost by 8 wickets in Bengaluru last week. He had conceded 94 runs in his quota of 16 overs in the first inning and bowled only two overs in the second inning of the series opener.
