5 records that Ravichandran Ashwin broke during his 100th Test
When Ravichandran Ashwin entered the field during the fifth Test against England, he received a guard of honor from his Indian teammates. Even the spectators in Dharamsala stood on their feet, as the occasion of Ashwin's 100th Test match filled the environment with palpable excitement.
To the ecstasy of many, Ashwin delivered the goods and made his monumental match quite memorable. While Kuldeep Yadav took a magical fifer in the first innings to put India in the driver's seat, Ashwin came away with nine wickets in the Test match.
The off-spinner was quite magnificent, especially in the second innings, where he claimed 5/77. The 37-year-old took the new ball and dismissed Ben Duckett in his very first over. He then sent back Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope to reduce England to 36/3.
Right at the stroke of Lunch, Ashwin sent one straight to clean bowl Ben Stokes. He completed his fifer by bamboozling Ben Foakes before India bundled England out for 195 to clinch the Test match by an innings and 64 runs.
The match proved to be quite a memorable one for Ashwin, who even broke a slew of records throughout the game. Here is a compilation of five such records.
#5 Most 25+ wickets in a Test series
Ravichandran Ashwin ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the five-match series, as he picked up a total of 26 wickets at an average of 24.81.
In doing so, he has now become the player who has taken 25 wickets or more in a Test series the maximum number of times. The England series was Ashwin's seventh instance of taking 25+ wickets in a Test series.
He has surpassed two legends, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, both of whom achieved the feat six times during their careers.
#4 Best bowling figures in 100th Test
Apart from Ashwin, there have been 79 others who have played 100 Test matches so far. However, none of them has better match figures than Ashwin's 9/128 in their 100th Test.
Ashwin bagged four wickets in the first innings (4/51) and took a great five-wicket haul in the second innings (5/77). Ashwin has broken Muttiah Muralitharan's record, who took 9/141 in his 100th Test against Bangladesh in 2006.
#3 First player to take a fifer in 1st and 100th Test
Another remarkable achievement unlocked by Ashwin is becoming the first player to register a five-wicket haul in his first as well as 100th Test match.
The wily spinner had a terrific start to his Test career after he delivered a match-winning performance against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in 2011.
He bagged three wickets in the first innings before recording 6/47 to help India win the tie by five wickets. Ashwin was declared the Player of the Match for his efforts in his debut Test match.
#2 Most five-wicket hauls for India in Test cricket
With his stupendous performance, Ashwin has further solidified his reputation as one of the best players ever to play Test cricket for India.
The enigmatic bowling all-rounder, who is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in red-ball cricket (after Anil Kumble), now has the most Test five-wicket hauls to his name for India.
With his latest fifer, Ashwin has now taken a total of 36 five-wicket hauls in Tests. Ashwin began the series with 34 Test fifers but has now eclipsed Kumble's tally of 35 Test fifers.
Currently, only Muttiah Muralitharan (67) and Shane Warne (37) have more Test five-wicket hauls than Ashwin (36).
#1 Indian with most dismissals against a particular batter in international cricket
It is not a secret that Ravichandran Ashwin is a master, especially when it comes to bowling against left-hand batters. His three most frequent victims in international cricket are all left-handers. However, none of them has been dismissed as often as Ben Stokes.
Ashwin has outdone the English Test captain 17 times now in international cricket — 13 times in Test cricket and four times in ODIs. After the latest battle in Dharamsala, Ashwin has now become the bowler with the most dismissals against a particular batter for India, overtaking Kapil Dev on the list. The former Indian captain took Desmond Haynes' wickets 16 times in international cricket (7 times in Tests and 9 times in ODIs).