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Team India’s frontline spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin returned with impressive bowling figures on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. The experienced campaigner trapped Aussie batters in his spin mystery and helped the hosts pack the tourists inside the 200-run mark.
Ashwin took three wickets in the form of Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon to assist India in limiting the Australians’ lead. During his scintillating performance, the Chennai-born also achieved a special milestone when he surpassed the legendary Kapil Dev.
Ashwin went past World Cup-winning skipper Kapil to become the third-highest wicket-taker for India in international cricket. The clever off-spinner now has 689 international wickets in 347 innings, while Kapil had 687 scalps in 448 innings.
When it comes to the top two positions, they are being held by spin maestros Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. While Kumble has 953 wickets across the formats, Bhajji has taken 707 scalps.
Most wickets for India across formats (innings):
- 953 (499) – Anil Kumble
- 707 (442) – Harbhajan Singh
- 688* (347) – Ravichandran Ashwin
- 687 (448) – Kapil Dev
- 597 (373) – Zaheer Khan
When it comes to Test cricket alone, Ashwin now has 466 wickets in 91 matches at an outstanding average of 23.92, and an economy rate of 2.77 with 31 five-wicket hauls and seven 10-wicket hauls. He is only behind Kumble in terms of most wickets tally for India. Overall, the 36-year-old is the ninth leading wicket-taker in red-ball history.
Speaking about the match, after packing Australia for 197, India were trailing by 88 runs only. However, in response, the hosts yet again came up with a disappointing show and got all out for 163, to give Australia a target of only 76 runs to win the third Test.
Apart from Cheteshwar Pujara, no other batter could stand up against a high-quality Aussie spin attack led by Nathan Lyon, who picked up a sensational 8-wicket haul for 64 runs in 23.3 overs. Pujara was the highest scorer for India with 59 off 142 balls, including 5 fours and a six.
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