Stats: Ravichandran Ashwin becomes fastest Asian bowler to take 200 Test wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin entered into the record books during the first Test against New Zealand by becoming the fastest Asian bowler to take 200 Test wickets. He got to the milestone by picking up the wicket of Kane Williamson.
He is also the second-fastest of all-time to get to the milestone behind only Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett who achieved the mark in just 36 Tests. The Australian spinner set the mark in 1936 and 80 years on, still holds the record.
Ashwin reached the milestone in his 37th match and beats Australia’s Dennis Lillee and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis who occupied second spot on the all-time list of fastest to 200 Test scalps as both got theirs in 38 Tests.
Coming into the first Test against New Zealand, Ashwin knew that he needed just seven wickets in the match to get that milestone and he did not disappoint. In the first innings, Jadeja might have grabbed the headlines with his five-wicket haul but almost under the radar Ashwin picked up another four-wicket haul.
Once New Zealand were set a target of 434, Ashwin had his eyes set on the record and he was on his way by dismissing both openers in his second over of the innings. He had to wait slightly longer for his third that got him the record but he got there in his ninth over as he got rid of Kane Williamson with an lbw.
This now means that Waqar Younis’ Asian record of being the fast bowler to take 200 Test wickets that was created in 1995 was broken 21 years later and incidentally both players got to the milestone against New Zealand. While the Pakistani pacer's milestone came in Christchurch, Ashwin’s came in Kanpur
The list of fastest Asian bowlers to 200 Test scalps features some of the best to have ever played cricket, including the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Imran Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Here is the list of Asian bowlers who were quickest to the 200 Test wickets mark.
| No. | Bowler | Opposition | Matches |
| 1. | Ravichandran Ashwin (IND) | New Zealand | 37 |
| 2. | Waqar Younis (PAK) | New Zealand | 38 |
| 3. | Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | England | 42 |
| 4. | Imran Khan (PAK) | India | 45 |
| 5. | Saqlain Mushtaq (PAK) | South Africa | 46 |
| 5. | Harbhajan Singh (IND) | Zimbabwe | 46 |
| 7. | Anil Kumble (IND) | Zimbabwe | 47 |
| 7. | Danish Kaneria (PAK) | South Africa | 47 |
| 7. | Rangana Herath (SL) | Bangladesh | 47 |
| 10. | BS Chandrasekhar (IND) | Australia | 48 |
In terms of the overall bowlers, only one bowler was quicker than Ashwin and that was 80 years ago and the top 10 list includes the likes of Dale Steyn, Malcolm Marshall and both Shane Warner and Muttiah Muralitharan. Here is the list of bowlers who were quickest to the 200 Test wickets mark.
| No. | Bowler | Opposition | Matches |
| 1. | Clarrie Grimmett (AUS) | South Africa | 36 |
| 2. | Ravichandran Ashwin (IND) | New Zealand | 37 |
| 3. | Dennis Lillee (AUS) | England | 38 |
| 3. | Waqar Younis (PAK) | New Zealand | 38 |
| 4. | Dale Steyn (SA) | West Indies | 39 |
| 5. | Ian Botham (ENG) | Australia | 41 |
| 5. | Stuart MacGill (AUS) | Sri Lanka | 41 |
| 7. | Malcolm Marshall (WI) | England | 42 |
| 7. | Shane Warne (AUS) | Sri Lanka | 42 |
| 7. | Allan Donald (SA) | Sri Lanka | 42 |
| 7. | Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | England | 42 |