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Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin entered the record books again when he became the first Indian bowler to claim 100 wickets in Test matches against England.
The 37-year-old achieved the feat on Day 1 of the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday, February 23. Ashwin dismissed Jonny Bairstow (38 off 35) to complete 100 scalps against England in Test cricket.
After England won the toss and decided to bat first in the Ranchi encounter on a tricky surface, India dominated the first session, reducing the visitors to 112/5 by lunch. Bairstow was looking dangerous for a change but was trapped lbw by Ashwin in the 22nd over of the innings.
The right-handed England batter missed the sweep and was struck on the back thigh. The on-field umpire Rod Tucker did not raise his finger, but ball-tracking clearly showed that the ball was hitting the stumps.
Earlier, Bairstow showed signs of aggression against Ashwin. In the off-spinner’s first over, the England batter slog-swept a maximum over deep midwicket. In the bowler’s next over, Bairstow cut a short ball in front of square for a four. However, Ashwin had his revenge on the very next ball, trapping him leg before.
Bairstow was the fourth wicket to fall in England’s first innings in the first session in Ranchi on Friday. Before that, debutant pacer Akash Deep rocked the visitors, claiming three wickets.
The right-arm pacer dismissed Ben Duckett for 11 and trapped Ollie Pope in front of the stumps for a duck before knocking over the set Zak Crawley for a run-a-ball 42. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja then trapped England captain Ben Stokes (3) lbw with one that kept very low as the visitors lost half their side heading into lunch on Day 1.
Ashwin completes 100 wickets against England in 23 Test matches
Ashwin picked up his 100th Test wicket against England while playing in his 23rd match against the opponent. He has six five-fers and one 10-wicket match haul so far against England.
Legendary former leg-spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar is second on the list of Indian bowlers with the most Test scalps against England. In 23 matches, he claimed 95 scalps, averaging 27.27, with eight five-wicket hauls.
Another former leg-spinner, Anil Kumble completes the top three. The former India captain claimed 92 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 30.59, with four five-fers and one 10-wicket match haul.
