Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the 2nd Indian and 9th overall to take 500 Test wickets
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has finally crossed the elusive milestone of 500 Test wickets on Day 2 against England in Rajkot on Friday. The off-spinner dismissed opener Zak Crawley to get to the landmark for his first wicket of the day. As a result, he became only the second Indian to pick up 500 Test wickets after Anil Kumble, who is at the top with 619.
The 37-year-old also became the ninth overall to the milestone, with the latest being his Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon.
The incident occurred in the 14th over of the innings and Ashwin's second as Crawley tried to sweep, but got a top edge as Rajat Patidar caught it in the in-field.
Ashwin started the five-Test series with 492 wickets under his belt and finished with four scalps in the opening game in Hyderabad which England won by 28 runs. The Tamil Nadu-born off-spinner also went wicketless in the first innings of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, with Jasprit Bumrah's six wickets proving decisive in gaining a 143-run lead for India.
The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer's 499th Test scalp was Joe Root in the fourth innings in Visakhapatham.
Ravichandran Ashwin's contribution with the bat proved to be decisive in India's first-innings total
Ashwin walked out to bat on Day 2 of the ongoing Test at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot when India stumbled to 331-7. With the hosts running the risk of falling some way short of a healthy total, he stitched together a 77-run partnership with the debutant Dhruv Jurel.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed ended his stay at 37 as the right-hander holed out to mid-on as James Anderson took a simple catch. After Jurel departed for 46, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj added another 30 runs to the tally. On Day 1, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja bailed India out of trouble after they succumbed to 33-3 in the first hour.
Rohit and Jadeja added 204 together. Following Rohit's departure for 131, Jadeja stitched together a partnership of 177, with Sarfaraz Khan smashing a brisk 62. India eventually finished with 445.