Ashwin’s Milestone: Becomes First To Achieve 50 Wickets In Every WTC Cycle

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Star Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin added another feather to his cap on Monday (September 30), becoming the first bowler to dismiss 50 or more batsmen in each of the three World Test Championship (WTC) cycles to date. The 38-year-old spinner from Tamil Nadu, who currently holds the top spot in the ICC Test bowler rankings, reached this historic milestone during the second Test against Bangladesh at Green Park, Kanpur.

Ashwin dismissed Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan for nine runs on the final ball of the 56th over, marking his 50th wicket in the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle.

Having been the second-highest wicket-taker in WTC history, Ashwin had previously taken 71 wickets in 14 matches during the 2019-21 WTC cycle and 61 wickets across 13 matches in the 2021-23 edition. His tally now stands at 50 wickets in 10 matches for the current cycle.

Ashwin’s Outstanding WTC Performance
Only a few other bowlers, such as Australia’s Nathan Lyon , Pat Cummins, and New Zealand’s Tim Southee, have managed to take 50 or more wickets in two out of the three WTC cycles , but none have matched Ashwin’s consistency across all three editions.

To date, Ashwin has claimed 182 wickets in 37 WTC matches, leaving him just six wickets shy of breaking Nathan Lyon's record of 187 dismissals, making him the highest wicket-taker in WTC history.

Leading Wicket-Takers in WTC History

  • Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 187
  • Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 182*
  • Pat Cummins (Australia) – 175
  • Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 147
  • Stuart Broad (England) – 134

Additionally, Ashwin could surpass Josh Hazlewood's record for most wickets in the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle if he takes two more wickets during this Test. Hazlewood currently leads the charts with 51 dismissals.

Most Wickets in WTC 2023-25

  • Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 51
  • Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 50*
  • Pat Cummins (Australia) – 48
  • Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 48
  • Chris Woakes (England) – 43
  • Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 43

Ashwin’s second wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings also allowed him to tie the record for the most wickets in India-Bangladesh Tests. He equaled Zaheer Khan’s tally of 31 wickets in seven Tests, matching this total in his eighth Test against Bangladesh.

Most Wickets in India-Bangladesh Tests

  • Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 31*
  • Zaheer Khan (India) – 31
  • Ishant Sharma (India) – 25
  • Umesh Yadav (India) – 22
  • Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 21

Ashwin, who claimed six wickets for 88 runs in the first Test of the series in Chennai, is on the verge of achieving another milestone. If he takes three more wickets in the first innings of this Test, he will secure his 38th five-wicket haul in Test cricket , surpassing Shane Warne’s record of 37 five-fors.

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