Aswin scales Mt. 500
9 The number of bowlers who now have the distinction of reaching 500 wickets during their Test career. India’s R. Ashwin became the latest to join this elite group on the second day of the Rajkot Test match on 16 March 2024. He thus became the second Indian after Anil Kumble (619) and the third off-spinner after Sri Lanka’s M. Muralitharan and Australian Nathan Lyon. Playing in the 98th Test match of his career, Ashwin became the second quickest to reach this landmark in Tests. Muralitharan achieved this feat, the fastest, in just 87 Tests on 16 March 2004. Ashwin, at 37 years and 152 days, is also the second oldest to do so after West Indian Courtney Walsh (38y-140d). Regarding strike rates among these bowlers while reaching their 500th Test wicket, Ashwin (51.49) is the second quickest after Australian Glenn McGrath (50.83).
Quickest to reach the 500th Test wicket (in fewest Tests) – the complete list
Tests | Bowler | For | Achieved on | Wkts | Ave. | S/R | Age |
87 | M. Muralitharan | SL | 16 Mar 2004 | 500 | 22.78 | 59.04 | 31y-334d |
98 | R. Ashwin | Ind | 16 Feb 2024 | 500 | 23.95 | 51.49 | 37y-152d |
105 | Anil Kumble | Ind | 11 Mar 2006 | 501 | 28.88 | 65.79 | 35y-145d |
108 | Shane Warne | Aus | 12 Mar 2004 | 501 | 25.51 | 60.32 | 34y-181d |
110 | Glenn McGrath | Aus | 21 Jul 2005 | 504 | 21.12 | 50.83 | 35y-162d |
123 | Nathan Lyon | Aus | 17 Dec 2023 | 501 | 30.86 | 63.10 | 36y-27d |
129 | Courtney Walsh | WI | 19 Mar 2001 | 504 | 24.56 | 57.56 | 38y-140d |
129 | James Anderson | Eng | 8 Sep 2017 | 506 | 27.39 | 55.85 | 35y-40d |
140 | Stuart Broad | Eng | 28 Jul 2020 | 501 | 27.95 | 56.77 | 34y-34d |
Note: The above career figures are updated at the end of the innings in the match where milestone was achieved.
51.46 R. Ashwin’s career bowling strike-rate at the end of the Rajkot Test match is now the best by any bowler with 500 or more wickets in a Test career. Behind him is Australian Glenn McGrath, whose bowling strike-rate is the closest to Ashwin.
Best career bowling career strike rates among the nine bowlers with 500-plus Test wickets
S/R | Bowler | For | Tests | Wkts | Ave/ | R/O |
51.46 | R. Ashwin | Ind | 98 | 501 | 23.94 | 2.79 |
51.95 | Glenn McGrath | Aus | 124 | 563 | 21.64 | 2.50 |
55.05 | M. Muralitharan | SL | 133 | 800 | 22.73 | 2.48 |
55.79 | Stuart Broad | Eng | 167 | 604 | 27.68 | 2.98 |
56.98 | James Anderson | Eng | 185 | 696 | 26.51 | 2.79 |
3 The number of players who have the distinction of doing the double of 3000 runs and 500 wickets during their Test career. By claiming his 500th Test wicket in Rajkot, R. Ashwin became the latest to achieve this double, having already aggregated 3000-plus career runs in Tests. Incidentally, Ashwin is now the quickest to do this in the fewest Test matches (98). England’s Stuart Broad (140 games) and Shane Warne (142) took much longer than Ashwin.
Players with 3000-plus runs and 500-plus wickets in Test cricket history
Player | For | Tests | Runs | Ave. | Wkts | Ave. | Achieved in |
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Shane Warne | Aus | 145 | 3154 | 17.33 | 708 | 25.42 | 142 | 4 Dec 2006 |
Stuart Broad | Eng | 167 | 3662 | 18.04 | 604 | 27.68 | 140 | 28 Jul 2020 |
R. Ashwin | Ind | 98 | 3308 | 26.68 | 501 | 23.94 | 98 | 16 Mar 2024 |
7 The number of Indian players who have the distinction of doing the double of 7000 runs and 500 wickets in first-class cricket. Ravindra Jadeja became the latest to join this elite club of players when he claimed his 500th wicket in Rajkot in the second innings on the fourth day on 18 February 2024. In the same Rajkot match, he had completed 7000 career runs during his knock of 112 on the opening day on 15 February.
7000-plus runs and 500-plus wickets
Batter | Mts | Runs | Ave. | Wkts | Ave. | From | To |
Vijay Hazare | 238 | 18740 | 58.38 | 595 | 24.61 | 1934/35 | 1966/67 |
Vinoo Mankad | 233 | 11593 | 34.60 | 782 | 24.53 | 1935/36 | 1963/64 |
Bapu Nadkarni | 191 | 8880 | 40.36 | 500 | 21.37 | 1951/52 | 1971/72 |
Madan Lal | 232 | 10204 | 42.87 | 625 | 25.50 | 1968/69 | 1991 |
Kapil Dev | 275 | 11353 | 33.00 | 835 | 27.09 | 1975/76 | 1993/94 |
Ravi Shastri | 245 | 13202 | 44.00 | 509 | 32.89 | 1979/80 | 1993/94 |
Ravindra Jadeja | 125 | 7101 | 45.81 | 506 | 23.86 | 2006/07 | 2023/24 |
10 The number of players who have made over 1000 runs and claimed over 50 wickets against England during their Test career. On the opening day in Rajkot, Jadeja became the latest to achieve this all-round feat and the third Indian player after Kapil Dev and R. Ashwin. However, Jadeja is the quickest to do this double, in just 18 Tests. Previously, Australian Keith Miller and South African Trevor Goddard did it in 19 games.
Quickest to reach 1000 runs and 50 wickets in Tests against England
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| Test career against England |
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Tests | Player | For | Achieved on | Venue | Runs | Ave. | Wkts | Ave. |
18 | Ravindra Jadeja | Ind | 15 Feb 2024 | Rajkot | 1000 | 35.71 | 63 | 33.57 |
19 | Keith Miller | Aus | 23 Jul 1953 | Leeds | 1140 | 42.22 | 54 | 21.30 |
19 | Trevor Goddard | SA | 22 Jan 1965 | Jo’burg | 1119 | 30.24 | 54 | 25.98 |
20 | Gary Sobers | WI | 5 Aug 1966 | Leeds | 2032 | 65.55 | 55 | 32.78 |
20 | Kapil Dev | Ind | 21 Jun 1986 | Leeds | 1008 | 38.77 | 69 | 35.78 |
36 The age of Rohit Sharma when he registered the 11th century of his Test career on the opening day of the Rajkot Test match on 15 February 2024. The century was his third as India’s captain in Test matches. He thus became the oldest Indian captain to register a Test century. The previous oldest was Vijay Hazare, who was 36 years and 279 days, while Rohit was 12 days older.
Oldest Indian captain to register a Test century
Age | Batter | Runs | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
36y-291d | Rohit Sharma | 131 | England | Rajkot | 15 Feb 2024 | W |
36y-279d | Vijay Hazare | 155 | England | Mumbai BS | 14 Dec 1951 | D |
35y-321d | M Azharuddin | 103* | New Zealand | Wellington | 26 Dec 1998 | L |
34y-135d | Rahul Dravid | 129 | Bangladesh | Mirpur | 25 May 2007 | W |
33y-182d | Sunil Gavaskar | 127* | Pakistan | Faisalabad | 3 Jan 1983 | L |
Note: Only the batter’s final century has been listed above
7 The number of batters who have converted their first three centuries to a 150-plus score. Yashasvi Jaiswal achieved this rare feat during his unbeaten 214 in Rajkot against England, thus making him the first Indian to do so.
Batters converting their first three Test centuries to a 150+ score
Batter | For | 1st Test century | 2nd Test century | 3rd Test century |
Javed Miandad | Pak | 163 v NZ (Lahore) 1976 | 206 v NZ (Karachi) 1976 | 154* v Ind (Faisalabad) 1978 |
Andrew Jones | NZ | 150 v Aus (Adelaide) 1987 | 170* v Ind (Auckland) 1990 | 186 v SL (Wellington) 1991 |
Brian Lara | WI | 277 v Aus (Sydney) 1993 | 167 v Eng (Georgetown) 1994 | 375 v Eng (St John’s) 1994 |
Mahela Jayawardene | SL | 167 v NZ (Galle) 1998 | 242 v Ind (ColomboSSC) 1999 | 167 v SA (Galle) 2000 |
Matthew Sinclair | NZ | 214 v WI (Wellington) 1999 | 150 v SAf (Pt Elizabeth) 2000 | 204* v Pak (Christchurch) 2001 |
Graeme Smith | SA | 200 v Ban (E London) 2002 | 151 v Pak (Cape Town) 2003 | 277 v Eng (Birmingham) 2003 |
Yashasvi Jaiswal | Ind | 171 v WI (Roseau) 2023 | 209 v Eng (Vizag) 2024 | 214* v Eng (Rajkot) 2024 |
Notes:
* Sinclair’s only three 100+ scores of his Test career
* Smith’s fourth 100+ score was 259 v Eng at Lord’s 2003. He is the only one in the above list with a 150+ score in his first four centuries.
250 The number of left-handed victims claimed by R. Ashwin in Test cricket. He becomes the first bowler in Test cricket history to achieve this milestone. Way behind him is England’s Jimmy Anderson, who has 216 left-handed victims.
Bowlers claiming wickets of left-handed batters on most occasions during their Test career
Bowler | For | LHB | RHB | Total wickets | %LHB | Matches |
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R. Ashwin | Ind | 250 | 251 | 501 | 49.90 | 98 |
James Anderson | Eng | 217 | 479 | 696 | 31.18 | 185 |
Stuart Broad | Eng | 193 | 411 | 604 | 31.95 | 167 |
M. Muralitharan | SL | 191 | 609 | 800 | 23.88 | 133 |
Nathan Lyon | Aus | 184 | 333 | 517 | 35.59 | 127 |
All records are correct and updated until 18 February 2024.
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