Senior India off-spinner R Ashwin became only the third Indian bowler to cross 700 international wickets landmark and took his 33rd Test five-wicket haul when he finished with figures of 5/60 against West Indies on Day 1 in Dominica.
It took him only 3 overs to make his first strike and soon after his second, dismissing both the WI openers. He returned, later on, to clean things up in the lower order and complete a five-fer that helped India bundle the hosts out for only 150.
Ravi Ashwin entered the elite list of bowlers with 700 or more international wickets. He now has 702 international wickets to his name; among Indians, he’s third on the list, only behind Anil Kumble (953) and Harbhajan Singh (707).
Jay Shah praises R Ashwin in a special tweet
BCCI Honorary Secretary, Jay Shah, who is also the President of the Asian Cricket Council, took to Twitter to hail the Tamil Nadu off-spinner for his staggering achievement in India colors in a career that started in 2010. Shah marveled at Ashwin’s brilliance as a bowler and the impact he’s had on the game.
“Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on reaching a phenomenal milestone of 700 International wickets! Your dedication, skill, and sheer brilliance as a spinner have left a lasting impact on the game. A true legend in the making! @BCCI,” Jay Shah tweeted.
This was Ravi Ashwin’s 33rd five-wicket haul in international cricket – all his five-fers have come in Test cricket only. Among Indians, only Kumble has more five-wicket hauls – 37 – than Ravi Ashwin. He’s likely to go past Kumble in this tally by the end of his career. Harbhajan Singh took 28 five-fers.
This performance was a bitter reminder to the Indian team management that they made a big mistake by dropping him for the WTC Final last month. Speaking on that, Ashwin said that highs and lows are part of the game.
“There’s no human being or cricketer who has gone through the highs without the lows,” he said after the first day’s play. “When you have lows, it gives you two chances – either you sulk and complain about it and go along and go down, or you learn from it. I am someone who’s constantly learnt from my lows. In fact the best thing that’s happened after this good day that I’ve had is that I’ll have a good meal, talk to my family and then go to bed and forget about it because when you’ve had a good day you know you’ve had a good day, but there are areas you can work on and get better for tomorrow.
