R Ashwin surpasses Dale Steyn to become 8th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket

India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has surpassed former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn on the list of leading wicket-takers in Test cricket.

SportsTak

• Mon • 14 Mar 2022

India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has surpassed former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn on the list of leading wicket-takers in Test cricket. In his 86th Test, Ashwin took the 440th wicket to get past the Proteas pacer. He is now ranked 10th on the highest wicket-takers list.

Ashwin achieved the feat with the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva in the pink-ball Test at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. In the first session, he drew Silva forward as he edged one to his pad and then to forward square leg fielder Hanuma Vihari.

Earlier in the first session, he also broke the second wicket partnership between skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis. The right-handed batter stepped down the wicket and was beaten by the drift generated by the spinner from around the wicket. Rishabh Pant did not make any mistake and dislodged the bails in a flash. Mendis scored a counter-attacking 54 off 60 deliveries and shared a 97-run partnership for the second wicket.

In Sri Lanka’s first innings, Ashwin helped India mop up the tail quickly in the first session of Day 2. Playing in his last Test, Suranga Lakmal became his first victim followed by no.11 batter Vishwa Fernando.

In the previous Test, the 35-year-old spinner surpassed former Indian skipper Kapil Dev to become the country’s highest wicket-taker in the five-day format.

In the next few Tests, Ashwin will have a chance to break former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble's record as well. He will not be able to break former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's record of fastest to 450 Test wickets but can become the second-fastest. Kumble achieved the feat in his 93rd Test whereas Muralitharan needed 80 Tests to achieve the feat.