On Thursday, legendary all-rounder and former Indian captain Kapil Dev was surpassed by the No. 1 Test bowler in the world, R Ashwin to become India’s third-leading wicket-taker in international cricket (March 2). The right-arm off-break bowler, 36, who ranks second in India for wickets in Test matches, took two wickets in the morning session of the second day of play for the third Test against Australia, which is currently taking place at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, breaking Kapil Dev’s previous mark of 687 international dismissals.
Ashwin, who was playing in his 269th international match for India, first eliminated Peter Handscomb on the last ball of the 71st over to open his wicket account in the third 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test and match Kapil’s tally and then broke Kapil’s record on the first ball of the 75th over to move to third place. He later dismissed Nathan Lyon, giving him three wickets in Australia’s first innings.
Ashwin now ranks third in India’s all-time wicket-taking list, trailing only Anil Kumble (953 wickets in 401 matches) and Harbhajan Singh (707 wickets in 365 games).
The star spinner from Chennai has taken 466 wickets in 91 Tests, 151 in 113 ODIs, and 72 in 65 T20I matches since making his Indian debut on June 5, 2010, against Sri Lanka in Harare.
On March 1, Ashwin, who is currently leading the Test rankings, reached the No. 1 spot against Australia in the ongoing Test series at home. Ashwin has taken a total of 16 wickets. He overtook James Anderson, an England pacer, to take the top spot. The first Test against New Zealand saw the 40-year-old Anderson establish himself as the best bowler, and he held that position for the past week.
During the first day of play between India and Australia in Indore, Ashwin’s strike partner Ravindra Jadeja set another record by becoming only the second Indian after Kapil to complete a 5000-run and 500-wicket double in international cricket.
