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India vs England: R Ashwin eyes impressive feat, set to go past Harbhajan Singh
India vs England: When R Ashwin takes the field against England at the Chepauk, the off-spinner will be eyeing an impressive landmark.
India off-spinner R Ashwin will be on the cusp of an impressive feat when India take on England in the first Test in Chennai starting Friday. Ashwin, India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, behind Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh, currently has 377 wickets from 74 matches. He is coming off an incredible tour of Australia, where the off-spinner grabbed 12 wickets from three Tests and scored a
Ashwin has improved his away record significantly over the last 18 months. However, on home soil, the off-spinner remains a different beast for batsmen to tackle. Of his 377 wickets, Ashwin has 254 wickets in India, including 21 five-wicket-hauls and six match-hauls of 10 wickets. Hence, when Ashwin takes the field against England at the Chepauk, the off-spinner will be eyeing an impressive landmark.
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Ashwin needs 12 wickets to overtake Harbhajan’s tally of 265 Test wickets at home. Provided he gets there, Ashwin will become India's second-highest wicket-taker at home behind Kumble, who leads the pack with 350 wickets. Besides, Ashwin needs another eight wickets to complete 50 Test wickets against England at home. He will become only the fourth Indian to do so after the legendary BS Chandrasekhar (64), Kumble (56) and Bishan Singh Bedi (50).
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The last time England had toured India to play Test matches – in 2016 – Ashwin had grabbed 28 wickets from five matches at an average, which comprised three five-wicket-hauls and one match haul of 10 wickets. In the 2018 Pataudi Trophy, in which England had beaten India 4-1 comprehensively, Ashwin had taken 11 wickets from four Tests.
Recently, England’s batting coach Graham Thorpe had said that India’s bowling attack is not only about pacers and that their spinners are equally capable. In the absence of Jadeja, Ashwin will be the leader of the spin attack, along the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.
