Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on his way to being the best bowler ever in the history of cricket. He is not only performing stupendously in the bowling department, he is also making runs consistently in the middle-order. He is breaking records in every match. In the first innings of the fourth Test match against England in Mumbai, R Ashwin broke three records.
On day 1 of the Test, R Ashwin became the seventh highest wicket-taker for India. He surpassed former pacer Javagal Srinath who had taken 236 wickets in 67 Test matches.
On day 2 of the Test, R Ashwin completed his 23rd five-wicket haul. He achieved this feat in his 43rd Test matches. With this performance, he equalled the record of Kapil Dev who had taken 23 five-wicket hauls in 131 Test matches. Ashwin is number 3 on the list of highest five-wicket hauls by Indian bowlers. Anil Kumble leads with 35 five-wicket hauls in his career. With 25, Harbhajan Singh is second on the list.
Ashwin also became the numero uno on the list of Indian bowlers who have taken the highest number of wickets in India in a calendar year. He has taken 47 wickets in 2016. Erapalli Prasanna had taken 46 wickets in 1969.
England were bowled by India for 400 runs in their first innings. Ashwin finished with 6 wickets. Debutant opener Keaton Jennings made a superb ton to set the tone for the visitors. But experienced campaigner R Ashwin rocked the England ship with his fifer. Later, Jos Butler and Jake Ball played crucial knocks of 76 and 31 respectively to take the English total to 400. This is a decent total at Mumbai for England as they don’t have to bat in the fourth innings when the ball turns. India will have to bat their hearts out in their first innings to salvage the match. India are already leading the series 2-0 and a draw or a win here will seal the series for them.
