Ravichandran Ashwin in 400 club - a great moment in spin history

Only sixteen bowlers have claimed 400 Test wickets or more. Ashwin reached the landmark in his 77th game and became the second quickest after Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan who required 72 games.

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 400th Test wicket during the ongoing series against England.

16

The number of bowlers to take 400 Test wickets or more, with R. Ashwin becoming the latest to do so during the third Test against England in Ahmedabad. By reaching the landmark in his 77th match, Ashwin became the second quickest after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, who required 72 games. Ashwin is the sixth spinner to reach the mark after Shane Warne (August 2001), Muralitharan (January 2002), Anil Kumble (October 2004), Harbhajan Singh (July 2011) and Rangana Herath (October 2017). For the record, Ashwin took nine years, three months and 20 days (a total of 3,400 days) to get to 400 wickets. Only Australia’s Glenn McGrath did it quicker – in eight years, 11 months and 10 days (3,266 days).

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Quickest to 400 Test wickets

Test	Innings	Bowler	Country	Achieved on	Wickets #	Average #	Strike rate #	Opponent	Venue
72	117	Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	January 15, 2002	400	23.71	60.15	Zimbabwe	Galle
77	144	R. Ashwin	India	February 25, 2021	401	24.95	53.01	England	Ahmedabad
80	140	Richard Hadlee	New Zealand	February 4, 1990	403	22.12	50.75	India	Christchurch
80	149	Dale Steyn	South Africa	July 30, 2015	402	22.49	41.58	Bangladesh	Mirpur
84	153	Rangana Herath	Sri Lanka	October 2, 2017	400	27.82	59.59	Pakistan	Abu Dhabi
85	148	Anil Kumble	India	October 6, 2004	400	28.40	67.21	Australia	Bangalore

# At the end of the innings in which the landmark was achieved.

Note: Although, Muralitharan is the quickest to in terms of Tests and innings, Dale Steyn’s balls per wicket (41.58) at that stage was the best among all the 16 bowlers with 400-plus wickets.

18

The number of wickets taken by Axar Patel is now the second most by an Indian bowler after the first two Test matches of his career. Narendra Hirwani holds not only the Indian record, but the overall one too with 24 wickets at the end of his second Test in November 1988. After a record 16 wickets on debut against the West Indies in Madras in January that year, Hirwani went on to claim another eight in his second game against New Zealand in Bangalore.

Most wickets by Indian bowlers after playing two Test matches

Wickets	Bowler	Average	Strike rate	Five-wicket innings/Ten-wicket matches	Best bowling figures	Year
24	Narendra Hirwani	10.71	23.71	3/1	8/61	1988
18	Axar Patel	9.44	25.89	3/1	6/38	2021
13	Shivlal Yadav	13.92	34.85	0/0	4/35	1979
13	Venkatesh Prasad	19.31	45.92	1/0	5/76	1996
13	R. Ashwin	24.15	47.31	1/0	6/47	2011
12	Laxman Sivaramakrishnan	23.00	51.17	2/1	6/64	1983-84

Note: Sivaramakrishnan went wicketless in his debut Test in April-May 1983 but claimed 12 wickets in his second match in November-December 1984.

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22

The number of matches in Test cricket history that were completed within two days. India’s win over England in Ahmedabad was its second such victory after it defeated Afghanistan on the second day of the latter’s inaugural Test match in Bangalore on June 15, 2018. Ahmedabad, meanwhile, became the 14th venue to witness a two-day Test.

A summary of all 22 two-day Test matches

Winnings teams	Losing Teams	Host country	Venue
Team	Occasions	Team	Occasions	Country	Occasions	Venue	Occasions
England	9	South Africa	7	England	9	The Oval, London	4
Australia	8	England	4	South Africa	7	St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth	3
South Africa	2	Australia	3	India	2	Newlands, Cape Town	3
India	2	Zimbabwe	3	Australia	1	Old Trafford, Manchester	2
New Zealand	1	West Indies	2	New Zealand	1	Lord’s, London	1
West Indies		New Zealand	1	Zimbabwe	1	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	1
Pakistan		Pakistan	1	UAE	1	Melbourne Cricket Ground	1
Sri Lanka		Afghanistan	1	West Indies		Old Wanderers, Johannesburg	1
Zimbabwe		India		Pakistan		Basin Reserve, Wellington	1
Bangladesh		Sri Lanka		Sri Lanka		Headingley, Leeds	1
Ireland		Bangladesh		Bangladesh		Sharjah Cricket Ground	1
Afghanistan		Ireland		Ireland		Harare Sports Club Ground	1
						M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	1
						Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	1

4

The number of times England has been defeated in a Test within two days. The last time before the Ahmedabad Test was nearly 100 years ago – in the Ashes at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, in May 1921!

England’s two-day Test match defeats

Date	Venue	Opponent	Lost by
August 28-29, 1882	The Oval, London	Australia	7 runs
July 26-27, 1888	Lord’s, London	Australia	61 runs
May 28-30#, 1921	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	Australia	10 wickets
February 24-25, 2021	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	India	10 wickets

Note: May 29, 1921, was a rest day.

140.2

The number of overs bowled in the third Test match between India and England in Ahmedabad is the seventh fewest among completed Tests. However, it was the fewest since the Bridgetown Test between the West Indies and England in January 1935 – more than 86 years ago.

Fewest overs bowled in a completed Test match

Overs (balls)	Home team	Visiting team	Venue	Month/year	Result
109.2 (656)	Australia	South Africa	Melbourne	February 1932	Australia won by an innings and 72 runs
112.0 (672)	West Indies	England	Bridgetown	January 1935	England won by 4 wickets
131.2 # (788)	England	Australia	Manchester	August 1888	England won by an innings and 21 runs
132.0 # (792)	England	Australia	Lord’s	July 1888	Australia won by 61 runs
132.4 # (796)	South Africa	England	Cape Town	March 1889	England won by an innings and 202 runs
135.5 (815)	England	South Africa	The Oval	August 1912	England won by 10 wickets
140.2 (842)	India	England	Ahmedabad	February 2021	India won by 10 wickets
145.2 (872)	New Zealand	Australia	Wellington	March 1946	Australia won by an innings and 103 runs

# Test matches with four-ball over. A total of 197 four-ball overs were bowled at Manchester, 198 at Lord’s, and 199 at Cape Town. For the above table, the overs have been converted to six balls.

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145

India’s first-innings total in the third Test in Ahmedabad is now the second lowest for the country in a winning cause. The lowest still remains the 104 the side made against Australia at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, when it won by 13 runs.

Lowest totals for India in a winning cause

Total	Innings	Opponent	Venue	Month/year	Result
104	1	Australia	Mumbai (Wankhede)	November 2004	Won by 13 runs
145	2	England	Ahmedabad	February 2021	Won by 10 wickets
152	1	Australia	Kanpur	December 1959	Won by 119 runs
155	3	England	Kolkata	January 1973	Won by 28 runs
156	1	New Zealand	Mumbai (Brabourne)	September 1969	Won by 60 runs

 

All records are updated after the end of the third Test match in Ahmedabad on February 25.