Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Tom Latham to claim his 418th Test wicket to go past Harbhajan Singh, on the fifth and final day of the opening Test against New Zealand.
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Team India head coach Rahul Dravid was full of praise for spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, after the latter became India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket during the opening Test against New Zealand in Kanpur. Dravid hailed Ashwin for developing into a top off-spinner, going on to term him as an absolute ‘match-winner’ for India in the longest format. The spinner accounted for the dismissal of New Zealand cricketer Tom Latham to account for his 418th Test wicket, surpassing Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 417. While Harbhajan took 103 Tests to accumulate the tally of wickets, Ashwin has achieved the feat in just 80 Tests. The latter is now only behind Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev in the overall standings.
“I think it’s a phenomenal achievement. I think you know Harbhajan Singh was a really fine bowler, someone I played a lot of cricket with; a terrific bowler for India and what Ashwin has done, to be able to go past him in just 80 Test matches is a phenomenal achievement,” said Dravid at the post-match media conference.
Kumble tops the chart with 619 scalps and is followed by Dev, who has a total of 434 wickets under his name.
“Ashwin is one of those guys who has been an absolute match-winner for India, even today you saw on this difficult wicket. The way he pulled us back into the game on that third morning, with that spell of 11 overs, was absolutely phenomenal. And then today, just to keep us alive in the game, constantly being threatening on wickets like this is a tribute to his skills and ability,” added Dravid.
The recently appointed Team India head coach believes that Ashwin has evolved over the years.
“He has just evolved, he has just kept growing. He is one of those guys who keeps thinking about the game, keeps changing, keeps evolving, that’s why he (has) got where he has. You don’t achieve what Ashwin has achieved without growing and improving and evolving. It is a pleasure to have someone like him in the dressing room and to work (with him). I am really happy for him,” signed off Dravid.
An exceptional batting performance by Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel ensured that the first of the two-match Test series between India and New Zealand ended in a draw on Monday. India were undoubtedly in the driver’s seat for the most part on Day 5, but they just could not bag the one final wicket to win the match. The Kiwis were chasing a total of 284 and they ended their second innings with 165-9 on the board. The draw will feel like a loss to the Indian team but it is a fine result for the visitors. For the hosts, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja used all of their experience to almost seal the game in their team’s favour, but it was just not to be. Jadeja picked four wickets while Ashwin bagged three.
