Ravichandran Ashwin has become India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket against New Zealand by breaking the 45-year-old record of former Indian skipper Bishan Singh Bedi. With a couple of wickets in the first session of Day 5 at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, Ashwin now has 58 wickets against Kiwis in his 10th Test (15th innings).
The veteran off-spinner went past Bedi’s tally of 57 wickets from 12 Tests (22 innings) with the wicket of Tom Latham and Tom Blundell . The left-arm spinner had a bowling average of 19.14 including four five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul in the match. On the other hand, Ashwin has three 10-wicket haul and six five-wicket haul against the BlackCaps. Also, his bowling average is just below 17.
The 35-year-old spinner also surpassed Harbhajan Singh’s tally of wickets (417) to become India’s third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game. The list is topped by Anil Kumble with 619 wickets followed by Kapil Dev who has 434 wickets. The Tamil Nadu spinner will have Dev’s record in sights with plenty of Test series lined up.
Also, Ashwin is now only second to New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee in India vs New Zealand Test history. Hadlee has taken most wickets between the two sides. Before hanging his boots, the Kiwi pacer had taken 65 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 22.96 and best bowling figures of 7 for 23.
Before the start of Kanpur Test, Ashwin had 52 wickets from seven Tests. He also has most five-wicket hauls in India vs New Zealand red-ball clashes.
