'He'll go beyond that...' Anil Kumble's ultimate praise for Ravichandran Ashwin

Indian spin magician Ravichandran Ashwin came up with a fabulous display on Sunday and registered his 35th fife-wicket haul to bowl out England for 145 in the second innings of the fourth Test. Ashwin dismissed English opener Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope early on consecutive deliveries in the fifth over to earn an upper hand for the hosts. He picked up the wicket of Joe Root and later dismissed Ben Foakes and James Anderson to complete his five-wicket haul. With his 35th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, Ashwin succeeded in matching the record of legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble. Ashwin also went past Kumble’s tally of Test wickets 350 wickets in India.

Following the end of the day’s play, Kumble himself praised Ashwin. “Oh, yes. It was a fantastic effort from Ashwin. Much needed because at lunchtime I think there was a question asked saying, Ashwin hasn’t had a great impact on the series. I mean, this is the most important day of the series for India to go ahead in that series. And look at those 35 five-wicket hauls it’s quite amazing to see records coming in for Ashwin," Kumble told the broadcasters.

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“It’s wonderful to see Ashwin right up there, and I’m sure he’ll go beyond that. He still has a lot of matches to play for India and start winning as well. He’s done that throughout. That’s why I said, when someone has sort of given you that kind of start to his Test career, the expectations just go higher and higher and higher,” the former India skipper added.

Playing in his 99th Test in Ranchi, Ashwin returned with sensational figures of 5/51 in the second innings. This was also Ashwin’s maiden five-wicket haul of the Test series against the Ben Stokes-led side. Ashwin recently breached the 500-Test wicket mark during the third match against England in Rajkot. The 37-year-old became the ninth player and only the second Indian bowler, after Kumble, to join the elite list of 500 Test wicket-takers.

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Apart from Ashwin, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav also produced a brilliant performance to claim four wickets in the second innings of the penultimate Test. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja bagged the other wicket for the hosts.