Ravichandran Ashwin, a veteran off-spinner, made history again by becoming the first Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in Tests against England.
On Friday, February 23, the 37-year-old accomplished the feat on Day 1 of the fourth Test at Ranchi’s JSCA International Stadium Complex. Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Jonny Bairstow (38 off 35) to reach 100 wickets against England in Tests.
After England won the toss and chose to bat first in the Ranchi match on a difficult surface, India controlled the opening session, reducing the visitors to 112/5 by lunchtime. Bairstow looked threatening for a change, but was caught lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin in the 22nd over of the match.
The right-handed England hitter missed the sweep and was hit in the rear thigh. The on-field umpire, Rod Tucker, did not raise his finger, although ball-tracking plainly indicated that the ball had hit the stumps.
Previously, Bairstow displayed aggressive behavior with Ravichandran Ashwin. In the off-spinner’s first over, England’s batsman slog-swept a maximum over deep midwicket. Bairstow scored a four in the bowler’s following over by cutting a short ball in front of square. However, Ashwin exacted his revenge on the very next ball, trapping him leg before.
Bairstow was the fourth wicket to fall in England’s first innings during the opening session on Friday in Ranchi. Prior to then, rookie bowler Akash Deep dominated the visitors, taking three wickets.
The right-arm pacer bowled Ben Duckett for 11 runs, trapped Ollie Pope in front of the stumps for a duck, then knocked over the set Zak Crawley for 42 runs per over. Ravindra Jadeja, a left-arm spinner, then caught England captain Ben Stokes (3) lbw with a low delivery, as the visitors lost half their side before lunch on Day 1.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s historic feat: 100 Test wickets vs England in 23 matches
Ravichandran Ashwin took his 100th Test wicket against England while playing his 23rd match against them. So far, he has six five-fers and one ten-wicket haul versus England.
Famous past leg-spinner, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, ranks second. He’s among Indian bowlers with top Test wickets against England. He played 23 matches, bagged 95 wickets with a 27.27 average. He also had eight instances of five-wicket roundups.
Another former leg spinner, Anil Kumble, rounds out the top three. The former India captain took 92 wickets in 19 Tests with an average of 30.59, including four five-fers and one 10-wicket match haul.
