Ravichandran Ashwin's 100th Test: Breaking down spin legend’s Test career in numbers

It was only recently that Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the dream milestone of a 500th Test wicket, becoming the ninth bowler to join the elite club and only the second Indian after Anil Kumble. In three days’ time, the senior India off-spinner will be adding another feather to his cap by making his 100th appearance in Test cricket, assuming he stays fit or the management decides against resting him.

He will become the 14th Indian cricketer to achieve the feat, with senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara the last Indian to have joined the club, doing so in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy. And it’s not just Ashwin who will be celebrating the milestone this week; England’s Jonny Bairstow too will complete a century of Tests in Dharamsala.

Ever since he made his India debut in the five-day format against West Indies in 2011, Ashwin has filled the void left behind by the legendary Kumble and took over from Harbhajan Singh, another of India’s spin icons, at a time when the Bhajji’s powers were on the wane. ‘Ash Anna’ has been India’s go-to option for wickets in home Tests for a decade now and has formed a quite the successful pairing with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, with the two continuing to make overseas batters dance to their tunes even today.

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Completing 100 appearances in what is the most physically taxing format in the ‘Gentleman’s Game’ is a major achievement in itself and speaks volumes about the player’s skill-set as well as fitness — two crucial factors in deciding how far a cricketer can go in their career.

Ashwin, who has constantly been able to reinvent himself from time to time while keeping his primary skills sharpened and fitness levels in check, has excelled on that front and deserves the accolades as such.

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Ahead of the fifth Test between India and England in Dharamsala’s HPCA Stadium, which gets underway on Thursday, 7 March, we take a look at Ashwin’s legendary career in numbers:

— Ravichandran Ashwin is currently the ninth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 507 scalps, and ranks third among active cricketers after England pacer James Anderson (698) and Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon (527).

— Ashwin has been part of 58 Test wins and has take 354 wickets in them at 19.11 with a strike rate of 43.1, the best for an India bowler and the fifth-best in the world after Muthiah Muralidaran, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Anderson.

— Ashwin is the oldest Indian bowler to take a 10-wicket match haul at 36y 300d (against West Indies in 2023).

— Ashwin also shares the record for most five-fers in an innings in Test cricket with Kumble, the two having collected 35 of them though the former has achieved it in far fewer number of Tests.

— Ashwin and Kumble also share the record for most ten-fers in a Test among Indian bowlers, both having achieved the feat eight times in their career.

— It’s not just with the ball that Ashwin’s excelled in the sport. He also has 3,309 runs to his name in the Test format at an average of 26.47, making him only the second Indian after legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev to score 3,000 runs and collect 400 or more wickets in the format.

— Ashwin holds the record for being the fastest bowler to 300 Test wickets, achieving the feat in 54 appearances in 2017 and breaking Australian pace legend Dennis Lillee’s record (56) that had stood for more than three decades.

— Ashwin also came close to breaking Muralidaran’s record of the fastest bowler to 400 Test wickets. Ashwin achieved the feat in 77 appearances in 2021, five more than the Sri Lankan spin legend.

— The senior Tamil Nadu offie has also collected 50 or more Test wickets in a calendar year in four different years, the most by an Indian and the fifth-most overall after Warne (7), Muralitharan (6), McGrath (5), and Rangana Herath (4).

Ashwin’s overall Test bowling record:

Ashwin’s bowling record at home and away:

Home
Matches: 59
Wickets: 354
Average: 21.33
Economy: 2.74
SR: 46.6
BBI: 7/59
BBM: 13/140
5W: 27
10W: 6

Away
Matches: 39
Wickets: 149
Average: 30.40
Economy: 2.90
SR: 62.8
BBI: 7/71
BBM: 12/131
5W: 8
10W: 2

Neutral
Matches: 1
Wickets: 4
Average: 11.25
Economy: 1.80
SR: 37.5
BBI: 2/17
BBM: 4/45
5W: 0
10W: 0

Ashwin’s batting record at home and away:

Home
Matches: 59
Runs: 1824
Average: 27.22
Highest: 124
100: 3
50: 8

Away
Matches: 39
Runs: 1456
Average: 26.00
Highest: 118
100: 2
50: 6

Neutral
Matches: 1
Runs: 29
Average: 14.50
Highest: 22
100: 0
50: 0