On the eve of the Test series finale against England, India captain Rohit Sharma hailed Ravichandran Ashwin as a "rare" talent. The veteran spinner is all set to play his 100th Test in the fifth India vs England clash at Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium starting Thursday. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
"(It's a) big achievement for any player to play 100 Tests. It is a big milestone. He has been a match-winner for us. What he has done for us, no praise is enough," Rohit said at the pre-match gathering Wednesday.
A match-winner par excellence, Ashwin has collected the Player of the Series award 10 times in Test cricket (41 series), and one more will see him equal the all-time record with Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralidharan, who has 11 in 61 series (133 matches).
Advertisement
"His performances over the last five-seven years, every series he has contributed," Rohit lauded his premier spinner. "It is rare to have players like him."
Ashwin made his India debut in a One-Day International match against Sri Lanka in June 2011, but the off-spinner has since established himself as one of the greatest bowlers in Test cricket, and probably the most prolific Indian wicket-taker, a claim justified by the fact that he is the quickest Indian to the milestone of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500 wickets in the traditional format of the game.
The 37-year-old, with 507 wickets in 99 Test matches, is only the second Indian after Anil Kumble (619 in 132 matches) to breach the 500-wicket mark. In the ongoing series, Ashwin has so far claimed 17 scalps, joint-most with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, but three fewer than leading wicket-taker Tom Hartley of England.
Advertisement
Overall, Ashwin has taken 105 English wickets which is the third most for an Indian bowler against a team; his 114 wickets against Australia being the Indian record, followed by Kumble's 111 against the same opponent.
Ravichandran Ashwin, also a handy batter, is one of the very players who have completed the feat of scoring a century and taking five-wicket hauls multiple times in an innings -- twice against the West Indies (103 and 5/156 in 2011, 113 and 7/83 in 2016) and against England (106 and 5/43 in 2021).
Ashwin has so far scored 3309 at an average of 26.47. In 140 innings, he has five centuries with the highest score of 124 and 14 half-centuries.
The India vs England Test match in Dharamsala will also have England star Jonny Bairstow reach the 100th Test milestone. The 34-year-old wicket-keeper batter has scored 5974 runs in 176 innings with the help of 12 centuries and 26 fifties.
The visitors started the tour of India with a shock win, by 28 runs, in Hyderabad. India won the next three -- by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam, by 434 runs in Rajkot and by five wickets -- to take an unassailable 3-1 lead and retain the Anthony de Mello Trophy; conversely, when India tour England, the two teams fight Pataudi Trophy. England are the current holders.
