Bhubaneswar: Amid the celebrations following India’s eight-wicket victory over Australia in the second Test at Melbourne, a world record has gone unnoticed. The feat has been achieved by Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. It is indeed a tremendous feat as the Indian bowler has beaten a legend a like Muttiah Muralitharan to create the new record. Ravichandran Ashwin is a quiet and unassuming character. May be that is one of the reasons why people are not celebrating this massive world record.
Ashwin dismissed Josh Hazlewood to end the Australian second innings. It was the 192nd time in his Test career that the off-spinner dismissed a left-hander making him the most successful bowler against southpaws. Earlier the record belonged to Muralitharan. Well Muralitharan took 133 Tests to achieve the feat. However, Ashwin has created the new world record in just 73 Tests. It just shows his craft as a bowler against left-handers.
The third fourth and fifth places are now occupied by England’s James Anderson (186 left-handers dismissed) and Australian greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne (172 dismissals each).
Ashwin has been in prime form in the ongoing series against Australia. He has so far picked up 10 wickets in the two Tests. Most Australian batsmen are finding it difficult to pick him. It has been publicly acknowledged by ICC’s top Test batsman Steve Smith.
Smith has been dismissed twice by Ashwin in the ongoing Test series. He said he hasn’t allowed any other spinner to dictate terms like the Indian spinner did to him. “I probably haven’t played Ashwin as well as I would’ve liked; I probably would’ve liked to have put him under a bit more pressure. I’ve sort of let him dictate terms and that’s something I’ve probably never let any spinner do in my career,” Smith told ‘SEN’ radio during an interview.
After the end of the second Test, people are talking about the century under pressure by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane. It was no doubt a match-turning knock. However, in India’s victory Ashwin certainly had a crucial role to play.
No doubt, Ashwin is in the prime form of his life. He is on the threshold of another milestone – 400 Test wickets. His current wicket tally stands at 375 from 73 Tests. It remains to be seen how quickly he gets there.