Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin played his 100th Test for the country when he took to the field against England at the HPCA stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday. Not only did the 37-year-old not disappoint the fans with his performance in his 100th Test, he went one better by breaking a 137-year-old record with his fifer in the 2nd innings.
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To recap, Ashwin was instrumental in troubling the English batting in both innings of the Dharamshala Test, taking 4 wickets in the first innings and a fifer in the second. Ashwin completed his 36th 5-wicket haul with the wicket of Ben Foakes, who had his middle and leg stumps dismantled.
Ashwin’s stellar performance in his 100th Test meant that he overtook Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev and equalled Muttiah Muralidharnan for the best figures in a 100th Test match. The Sri Lankan spinner finished with figures of 9/141 in his 100th Test, while Ashwin ended the match with figures of 9/118.
The off-spinner also became the first bowler in history to take a fifer in both his debut and 100th Test. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer had made his debut against West Indies in 2011, where he took 3 wickets in the first innings and 6 in the second, restricting Darren Sammy’s side to a total of 180.
Ashwin reflects on his performance in Dharamshala Test:
Speaking about his performance at the post-match press conference, Ashwin said, “If I am confident that I can try something, I don’t hold back. I have kept my ears and eyes open to listen to good feedback. Unless I try, I will never be able to learn. I am not saying sticking to one method won’t work. But thankfully experimenting and learning has helped me,”
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“Feeling very happy. I can’t really put a wrap around how I feel right now. Lots of well wishes before the 100th Test. Throughout the series I have gone to different actions, speeds and releases. India is a different, each ground has a challenge. I was really happy with the way the ball came out, most pleased with this performance and the second innings in Ranchi” the veteran spinner added.
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Published: 10 Mar 2024, 10:21 AM IST
