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India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin broke yet another record in the ongoing home series against England.
After reaching the coveted 500 wicket milestone in the previous Test, Ashwin broke another record in the ongoing fourth Test in Ranchi.
Skipper Rohit Sharma placed faith on his senior-most bowler to deliver, handing him the new ball in England’s second innings on Sunday.
Though the visitors got off to a brisk start in the second innings, Ashwin delivered with back-to-back scalps to put the brakes on Ben Stokes’ men.
Not only did the wickets tilt the scales in India’s favour, but it saw Ashwin add a massive record to his name. After becoming only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to go past 500 Test wickets, Ashwin broke another Kumble record!
Entering the Ranchi Test, Ashwin was just two wickets behind Kumble’s long-standing record as the highest wicket-taker in India. Ahead of the fourth Test, Ashwin was on 348 wickets from 113 innings in India. Ashwin inched closer to snatching the record with one wicket in the second innings and then leaped past Kumble with two back-to-back scalps in the second innings.
While Kumble had 350 wickets in 115 innings, Ashwin now has 351 wickets – making him the highest wicket-taker in Test matches played in India. While Kumble slips to second, Harbhajan Singh lies third on the list with 265 wickets.
Ashwin is now only the fifth bowler to take 350 home wickets. The Indian veteran off-spinner joins Muttiah Muralitharan, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Anil Kumble.
Ashwin joined Kumble on 350 with the wicket of Ben Duckett and then went past Kumble on the very next ball, dismissing Ollie Pope – his 351st Test wicket scalp at home!