Star Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has created history on Monday (September 30) by becoming the first bowler in the world to dismiss at least 50 batters each in all three editions of the World Test Championship (WTC) played so far. The 38-year-old spinner from Tamil Nadu, who sits at No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking, achieved the feat by taking his second wicket of the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh at Green Park in Kanpur.
He dismissed Shakib Al Hasan for nine runs on the last ball of the 56th over to complete 50 wickets in the WTC 2023-25 cycle.
Ashwin, who is the second-leading wicket-taker in WTC history, dismissed 71 batters in 14 matches of the 2019-21 WTC cycle. In the 2021–23 edition, he got rid of 61 batters in 13 matches, and in the ongoing cycle, he has picked up 50 wickets in 10 matches.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s record in WTC
Australia’s Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, and New Zealand’s Tim Southee have dismissed 50 or more batters in two out of three WTC editions played so far.
Ashwin, who has 182 wickets to his name in 37 WTC matches played so far, needs six more wickets to break Lyon’s record of 187 dismissals and become the leading wicket-taker in WTC history.
Most wickets in WTC
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 187
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 182*
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 175
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 147
- Stuart Broad (England) – 134
If, in the ongoing match, Ashwin manages to take two more wickets, then he will break Australia’s Josh Hazlewood record and become the leading wicket-taker in WTC 2023-25 history. Hazlewood has dismissed 51 batters in 11 matches played so far in the ongoing cycle.
Most wickets in WTC 2023-25
- Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 51
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 50*
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 48
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 48
- Chris Woakes (England) – 43
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 43
The second wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings also helped Ashwin equal former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan’s record of most wickets in India-Bangladesh Tests. In seven red-ball matches against Bangladesh, Zaheer got rid of 31 batters, whereas Ashwin, who is playing his eighth Test these days, also has 31 wickets to his name now.
Most wickets in India-Bangladesh Tests
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 31*
- Zaheer Khan (India) – 31
- Ishant Sharma (India) – 25
- Umesh Yadav (India) – 22
- Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 21
Ashwin, who picked up six wickets for 88 runs in the series opener played in Chennai from September 19-22, needs three more wickets in the first innings to complete his 38th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, and if he manages to do so, then he will break Shane Warne’s record of 37 fifers in Test cricket.
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