Ravichandran Ashwin second-fastest ever to take 400 wickets in Test cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin became the second quickest to 400 Test wickets when he removed Jofra Archer on day two of the third Test in Ahmedabad.

R. Ashwin became the second-fastest ever to 400 Test wickets.

Ravichandran Ashwin became the second quickest to 400 Test wickets when he removed Jofra Archer on day two of the third Test in Ahmedabad. Ashwin overtook Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand and Dale Steyn of South Africa, who were joint-second on the list. The duo took 80 Tests while Ashwin bagged the 400th in his 77th match. Muttiah Muralitharan reached the milestone in 72 Tests.

 

Ashwin is the fourth Indian to enter the 400 club after Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417). He was also the quickest bowler to 300 wickets in Test history, reaching the landmark in only his 54th match. He had bested Dennis Lillee (56 Tests) to become the new record holder. The 34-year-old at the time was also the second-fastest ever to 200 Test wickets, behind Clarrie Grimmett (36). Ashwin had reached the milestone in 37 Tests. Pakistan's Yasir Shah now holds the record for being fastest (33 Tests) to 200 Test wickets.

Interestingly, Ashwin took only 18 Tests to reach 100 wickets - the then fastest bowler to the landmark since Grimmett took 100 wickets in his 17th Test, against West Indies in 1931.