India fast bowler Ishant Sharma put himself in elite company after picking up three wickets in first innings of the fifth Test against England at the Oval.
The three-wicket haul in the first innings helped Ishant take his tally to 18 in the series and by doing so, the lanky pacer is now tied with legendary all-rounder Kapil dev at the top, in the list of most number of wickets taken by an Indian bowler in England.
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During his playing days, Kapil scalped 43 wickets in 13 Tests for India in England and Ishant has now matched that feat in 12 Tests, but with one innings still to go. The other Indian cricketers in this illustrious top-5 list are spinners Anil Kumble, Bishan Singh Bedi and BS Chandrasekhar.
43 wickets (13 Tests) - Kapil Dev
43 wickets (12 Tests) – Ishant Sharma (yet to bowl in the second innings)
36 wickets (10 Tests) – Anil Kumble
35 wickets (12 Tests) – Bishan Singh Bedi
31 wickets (9 Tests) – BS Chandrasekhar
Moreover, Ishant is only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Zaheer Khan in the list of most number of wickets taken by an Indian in a single series in England. However, Ishant will have the opportunity to overtake them in the second innings of the ongoing Test as he is just one wicket away from the record of 19.
19 wickets (5 Tests) – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2014)
19 wickets (3 Tests) – Zaheer Khan (2007)
18 wickets (5 Tests) – Ishant Sharma (2018)
17 wickets (5 Tests) – Subhash Gupte (1959)
16 wickets (5 Tests) – Surendranath (1959)
Ishant is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in the ongoing series and if he does well in the second innings of the Oval Test, then expect few bowling records to crumble.