200 wickets in 37 Tests, Ashwin second quickest

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

Kanpur, September 25

Ravichandran Ashwin today took his 200th Test wicket in only his 37th Test, becoming the second quickest to reach the milestone, behind only Clarrie Grimmett, the legendary Australian leg-spinner. 

Grimmett, who played 37 Tests from 1925 to 1936, had reached the 200-wicket mark in his 36th Test. Ashwin, thus, is the quickest to the 200-wicket mark in 80 years.

During the recent tour of the West Indies, if two Tests had not been affected by rain, Ashwin could have beaten or at least equalled Grimmett record.

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Before Ashwin, the Indian record for the fastest 200 wickets was held by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who took his 200th wicket in his 46th Test. Before today, the second quickest to 200 Test wickets were Australia’s Dennis Lillee and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, both taking 38 Tests to get there. Dale Steyn of South Africa got his 200th wicket in his 39th Test.

Ashwin started the three-Test series against New Zealand at 193 wickets. He scalped three wickets on the fourth day today, to go with his four wickets in New Zealand’s first innings.

For the record, Ashwin has taken fewer deliveries than any other spinner to take 200 Test wickets. He has bowled 10,291 deliveries in Test cricket until now. 

Australia’s Stuart MacGill had bowled 10,511 deliveries at the end of the Test in which he got his 200th wicket. Grimmett had bowled a total of 13,955 deliveries until the end of his 36th Test, in which he’d got his 200th wicket.

In the world rankings for Test bowlers, Ashwin is at third place behind Steyn and England’s James Anderson.

“I'd say the last 80-100 wickets have been very, very good for me,” Ashwin said after the day's play today. “Ever since I came back from Australia last year, and went to Bangladesh, I think that’s when I really started enjoying my bowling. I knew what I was doing very clearly, started planning my dismissals, knew exactly how to set batsmen up. It has been a wonderful journey over the last couple of years, I just hope it keeps going for some time.”