Ravichandran Ashwin Overtakes Pat Cummins To Become 2nd Leading Wicket-Taker In WTC

After failing to take any wicket in the first inning of the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, world No. 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was back among wickets for India on Saturday (September 21) in the second innings. The 38-year-old spinner has dismissed two batters so far in 12 overs for 45 runs. He opened his account by getting rid of Shadman Islam on the third of the 22nd over and then picked up his second wicket by dismissing Mominul Haque for 13 runs on the last ball of the 30th over.

While Islam was caught by Shubman Gill, Ashwin breached Mominul’s defence to get the better of him. The wicket of the former Bangladeshi captain in the third session of the third day’s play helped Ashwin leapfrog Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins and reach No. 2 position in the list of bowlers with the most wickets in the World Test Championship.

The 101-Test veteran has 176 wickets to his name in 36 WTC matches, whereas Cummins has accounted for the dismissal of 175 batters in 42 matches. Cummins Australian teammate Nathan Lyon holds the record for dismissing most batters in WTC history. In 43 matches played so far, Lyon has picked up 187 wickets.

Most wickets in WTC

• Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 187
• Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 176*
• Pat Cummins (Australia) – 175
• Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 147
• Stuart Broad (England) – 134

Ashwin will have a chance to break Lyon’s record in the ongoing Test series between India and Bangladesh, the second match of which is scheduled to take place at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27.

Century in 1st innings

In the ongoing Test against Bangladesh before his bowling, Ashwin made headlines for his batting on Day 1 of the match. He came out to bat at No. 8 for India and, with the help of 11 fours and two sixes, scored 113 runs from 133 balls. He top-scored for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the first innings and added 199 runs for the seventh wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who amassed a total of 86 runs from 124 balls.

During his 113-run knock in the first inning, Ashwin joined Jadeja in an elite list. The two legendary spin bowling all-rounders from India are the only two cricketers in the world to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in WTC history.