Anna For A Reason: Ashwin Scripts History With 6 Wickets Against Bangladesh

India’s superstar spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, added another feather to his cap as he claimed his 37th 5-wicket haul in Tests. Ashwin achieved the feat as he bagged 6 wickets against Bangladesh in the second innings of the first Test at Chepauk, his home ground. The first innings wasn’t the most fruitful for Ashwin from a bowling perspective, as he failed to bag a single wicket. But, he scored a century with the bat, playing a pivotal role in taking the team’s total to 376 runs.

In the second innings, it was Ashwin’s magic with the ball that earned India a comprehensive 280-run victory in the series opener. In the process, Ashwin matched the legendary Shane Warne’s tally as the spinner with the second most 5-fors in Test cricket (37). Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record with as many as 67 5-wicket hauls in Tests. 

As Ashwin emerged as the biggest match-winner for the team, we take a look at some of the finest records the ‘Anna’ of Indian cricket holds in Test cricket.

Records R Ashwin Holds For India In Test Cricket:

1. Second most wickets for India (522)

2. Most 5-wicket hauls for India (37)

3. Joint most 10-wicket hauls for India (10)

4. Fastest to 250, 300, and 350 wickets in the world

5. Second most 100s at No. 8 or below in the world (4)

6. Only cricketer to have taken 30 5-fors and scored 20 50+ Scores

Ashwin’s 113 off 133 balls was crucial to India putting on a first-innings core of over 350 runs on the board, especially considering the way the team’s top-order crumbled. While India’s top-order showed a similar struggle in the second innings too, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill scored a century each to take the team to a total of 287/4 before skipper Rohit Sharma declared the innings.

On Day 4, India only needed the first session to send the remaining 6 Bangladesh batters packing, after the hosts had taken 4 wickets by stumps on Day 3. With the victory, India have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the 2-match series.

The result also strengthens Team India’s position in the World Test Championship points table.