India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday completed 450 wickets in Test cricket. On Day 1 of the four-match series opener against Australia in Nagpur, Ashwin picked up three wickets and helped his side in bundling out the hosts for a paltry 177 in the first innings.
The 36-year-old dismissed Australian wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey to reach the milestone figure in 89 matches. He is now the fastest Indian to claim 450 Test wickets, surpassing legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble – who achieved the feat in 93 games.
Overall, Ashwin is the second-fastest player, next only to the Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan, who took just 80 Tests for 450 wickets.
2nd Indian bowler to take 450 wickets in Test cricket – Ravichandran Ashwin.#INDvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/pXqc3wDxLa
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) February 9, 2023
Ashwin removes Carey
After losing some quick wickets in the post-lunch session, Australia’s middle-order batters – Peter Handscomb ad Carey – tried to counter-attack the Indian spinners. However, the plan didn’t prove to work out much as Carey fell into Ashwin’s trap and lost his wicket while playing a reverse sweep.
It all happened on the first ball of the 54th over. Carey, who had scored a few boundaries with his reverse sweep, this time failed to read the line of the full-length delivery bowled by Ashwin. The left-handed batter had to walk back to the pavilion after scoring 36 off 33 balls.
Here’s the video:
Sensational delivery to get a good batter out! Probing lengths by Ashwin brings up 450 TEST WICKETS! 🐐👏🏻
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— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 9, 2023
From 76/2 at lunch, Australia headed into the tea at 174/8 and were bowled out soon for 177 in the final session of the day.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (5/47) bagged his 11th five-wicket haul in red-ball cricket, while Ashwin finished with three wickets for 42 runs. Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami grabbed one wicket a piece.
In reply, India were 77 for the loss of one wicket. KL Rahul got out on 20 after facing 71 deliveries, while his partner and Team India captain Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 56.
