Ravichandran Ashwin, who surpassed Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets only recently, added new feathers to his illustrious career on the third afternoon of the ongoing day/night Test against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
On Day 3 of the second Test, as Ashwin sent Dhananjaya de Silva packing in Sri Lanka’s second innings, he went past South Africa legend Dale Steyn’s Test tally of 439 wickets and became the eighth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 440 scalps. Ashwin achieved the landmark feat in his 86th Test while Styen took 93 Tests to achieve the tally. Next on the list is the West Indies great Courtney Walsh, who has 519 Test wickets to his credit.
Among the Indians, Ashwin remains the second-highest wicket-taker having earlier surpassed the legendary Kapil Dev during the first Test in Mohali.
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Dhananjaya de Silva was also his 60th wicket against Sri Lanka in Test cricket as he went past legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne’s tally against the island nation. Warne picked up 59 wickets against Sri Lanka.
Ashwin now stands fourth on that list, behind India’s Anil Kumble, who had picked 74 wickets in 18 Tests against Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, who picked 66 wickets in 14 Tests and pace legend Wasim Akram, who has 63 wickets in 19 matches against Sri Lanka. Ashwin’s tally of 60 wickets came in just 11 matches.
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Talking about the match, Ashwin’s two wickets helped India reduce Sri Lanka to four down as the visitors chase India’s massive 447 runs target.
In the first Test, India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs.
