Social media went wild after Team India spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin scripted history in the second innings of the fourth Test against England in Ranchi on Sunday.
With Rohit Sharma's men trailing by 46 runs in the first essay, the Indian bowlers were under tremendous pressure to deliver the goods, especially on a turning track.
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Under these circumstances, Ravichandran Ashwin stepped up a gear as he grabbed five crucial English wickets, including the all-important scalp of Joe Root.
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As Ravichandran Ashwin registered figures of 5/51, the visitors were bowled out for a paltry score of 145 in the second innings.
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During the course of his splendid performance against England at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi, Ravichandran Ashwin scripted multiple records.
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The Tamil Nadu-born tweaker is now the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests at home, having surpassed the legendary Anil Kumble's tally. While Anil Kumble took 350 wickets in home Test matches, Ravichandran Ashwin now has 354 wickets in India. Only Muthiah Muralidaran (493), James Anderson (434), and Stuart Broad (398) have more wickets than the Indian off-spinner in red-ball cricket at home.
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Most Test wickets in India:
Ravichandran Ashwin: 354 wickets
Anil Kumble: 350 wickets
Harbhajan Singh: 265 wickets
Kapil Dev: 219 wickets
Ravindra Jadeja: 211 wickets
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It is worth highlighting that it was Ravichandran Ashwin's 35th five-fors in Test cricket, the most for India, alongside former skipper Anil Kumble.
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Only three other bowlers in the five-day format have grabbed for more five-wicket hauls, with Sri Lanka's Muthiah Muralidaran topping the list with 67 five-fors. Muthiah Muralidaran is followed by Shane Warne (37) and Richard Hadlee (36).
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Also, it was Ravichandran Ashwin's 27th five-for in Tests at home, the second-highest by any bowler in the whites. He went past Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath, who has 26. Herath's Sri Lankan teammate Muthiah Muralidaran occupies the top spot with 45 five-wicket hauls.
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The 37-year-old spinner has taken 16 five-fors while opening the bowling for India in Test matches. Overall, he has collected 170 wickets in Test matches when has opened the bowling for India. These 170 wickets have come at an average of 19.09 in just 51 innings.
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Ravichandran Ashwin now has 91 wickets against England at home, the most against any opposition by an Indian bowler. Before him, Harbhajan Singh was the highest wicket-taker against Australia. He has 86 wickets in 14 Test matches.
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At 37 years and 159 days, Ravichandran Ashwin is the second-oldest Indian to pick up a five-for in Test cricket. Vinoo Mankad is the oldest Indian to claim a five-wicket haul. He took five wickets against Pakistan in 1955.
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Besides, Ranchi is the 19th Test venue where Ravichandran Ashwin has grabbed a five-for in India. Only three cricketers have picked up five-wicket hauls at more Test grounds than Ravichandran Ashwin. Muthiah Muralidaran is on top of the ladder with five-wicket hauls at 25 venues, while Shane Warne and Wasim Akram follow him with five-fors at 20 stadiums each.ย
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Ravichandran Ashwin's marvelous bowling display earned him rich plaudits from many former India cricketers, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble and RP Singh.ย
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โR Ashwin wasn't having a good series in terms of his bowling performances, but we knew that you cannot keep Ashwin out of the game for too long. He will have an impact and he made an impact here. We needed wicket-taking bowling here and Ashwin did that,โ RP Singh said in a conversation on Colors Cineplex.
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โI thought they would get the fast bowlers to bowl at the start but the captain took the right call in getting Ashwin to bowl. The important thing is to get wickets and for that, to create circumstances and to read the wicket. The captain did all of that and Ashwin lived up to that,โ he added.
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On the other hand, Sunil Gavaskar urged India skipper Rohit Sharma to allow Ravichandrandran Ashwin to lead the team onto the field in the final Test in Himachal Pradesh if the home side won the fourth Test in Ranchi.ย
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โIndia win tomorrow (Monday) and you all go to Dharamsala. I just hope Rohit Sharma allows you to lead the team onto the field when you take the field, that will be a gesture, wonderful honour for all that you have done for Indian cricket,โ Sunil Gavaskar told Ravichandran during a chat with the host broadcasters.
โSunny bhai, you are being too generous, I have no expectations out of all these things. I am well past all that. I am enjoying every single moment being with this team. The longer it lasts, the happier I will be,โ Ravichandran Ashwin replied.
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โYou can pick all the wickets you want, you can set all the records you want. But nothing can match the feeling of a team win. So yes,, winning a Test match at the end of 4-5 days, the feeling is surreal. I want that feeling tomorrow. Ro and Jaiswal have started really well, I hope they can continue well tomorrow,โ Ashwin noted.
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โOh, yes. It was a fantastic effort from Ashwin. Much needed because at lunchtime I think there was a question asked saying, Ashwin hasn't had a great impact on the series. I mean, this is the most important day of the series for India to go ahead in that series. And look at those 35 five-wicket hauls it's quite amazing to see records coming in for Ashwin,โ Anil Kumble stated.
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โIt's wonderful to see Ashwin right up there, and I'm sure he'll go beyond that. He still has a lot of matches to play for India and start winning as well. He's done that throughout. That's why I said, when someone has sort of given you that kind of start to his Test career, the expectations just go higher and higher and higher,โ Kumble elaborated.
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โAnd when someone doesn't pick up two five-wickets in two innings or in two Test matches, people talk about his form, about his actions, about why he's changing this while he's changing that. But you know you need to. That is all noise. You just need to keep that away and champion bowlers do that. And Ashwin has certainly done that in this innings where India needed him most. The spinners had to come to the party in this innings and knock England out for less than 150 is a brilliant effort from Ashwin,โ he concluded.
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