Ravichandran Ashwin, on Sunday, picked his 435th Test wicket to overtake Kapil Dev and become India’s second highest wicket-taker in the format. Anil Kumble (619 wickets) is the only Indian ahead of Ashwin in the tally. 

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Ashwin, playing his 85th Test match, achieved the feat by dismissing Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka. He had equalled Kapil Dev’s (434 wickets) tally with the wicket of Pathum Nissanka during the visitors’ second innings.

The 35-year-old former Chennai Super Kings player had started this match with 430 scalps. He claimed two wickets in the first innings and then three in the second. 

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Kapil had reached 435 wickets in 131 matches. The legendary Anil Kumble tops the chart with 619 scalps which he claimed in 132 matches.

In the first innings, he had registered figures of 2/49, helping the hosts take a mammoth 400-run lead.

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Ashwin is the fourth Indian bowler to take more than 400 wickets in Test cricket. He also became the ninth highest Test wicket-taker of all time, moving past New Zealand great Richard Hadlee (431) and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (433) as well, apart from Kapil.

Only four Indian bowlers — Kumble, Ashwin, Kapil and Harbhajan Singh — have taken more than 400 wickets in Test cricket.

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Most Test wickets for India: 

619 Anil Kumble

435 R Ashwin *

434 Kapil Dev

417 Harbhajan

311 Zaheer Khan/Ishant Sharma 

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Meanwhile,  Ravindra Jadeja’s superb all-round show put India firmly on course for a big innings victory, his five-wicket haul helping the hosts end Sri Lanka’s first innings at 174 on the third day. With 400 runs behind India’s first innings score of 574, Sri Lanka, after following on, reached 130/7 after 40 overs.