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India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is 8 wickets away from equaling Muttiah Muralidharan's record
Ravichandran Ashwin might break this record in the second Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
India's premiere spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the cusp of equaling Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidharan when he steps on to the field in the second Test at Kingston, Jamaica on Friday. He needs to pick up 8 wickets to achieve the milestone of 350 wickets in Test cricket and equal the Sri Lankan legend who did it in 66 Tests. The Chennai born off-spinner has represented India in 65 Tests and has picked up 342 wickets an average of 25.44 including 26 five-wicket hauls and 7 ten-wicket match hauls.
Though there were many stars in the bowling department in the first Test, there was one bowler who failed to get the skipper's nod. It was Ravindra Jadeja who was preferred ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin owing to his superior batting abilities. But Ashwin, has an even more impressive record in the 11 matches he has played in West Indies. He has picked up 60 wickets at an average of 21.85. The last time when India played a Test series in West Indies, he scalped 17 wickets and was adjudged the Man of the Series. Also, all his four centuries in the longest format of the game have come against West Indies.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar was unhappy with the team management decision's to drop Ashwin. He said, "The selection astonished me. A man with that kind of record, especially against West Indies. He doesn't find a place in this playing XI. That is stunning. Astonishing."
After an easy outing in the first Test at Antigua where they won by 318 runs, Virat Kohli and his men will look to come back even harder in the second Test at Jamaica. A victory here would help them pocket full points from the series which is also part of the ICC World Test Championship.
The second Test will be played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica from 30th August.
