R Ashwin equals Anil Kumble, Sri Lanka legend’s records with his match-winning effort in Dominica Test

With that, the premier off-spinner helped his team restrict West Indies to 130 in the second innings as the tourists wrapped up the match inside three days and won it by an innings and 141 runs on Friday (July 14).

Ashwin returned with impressive figures of 7/71 in the second innings as the host batters abjectly surrendered against Indian bowlers in the match. The cricketer from Tamil Nadu thus returned with figures of 12/131 from the game and claimed yet another 10-wicket-haul in Test matches.

R Ashwin Achieves Another Test Feat

Ashwin – who was not included in Test XI in the World Test Championships final against Australia recently – sent a strong signal with yet another dominating performance in red-ball. IND vs WI: Deep Dasgupta explains why Ashwin is a thorough professional – ‘It’s one thing to have…’

With his 7/71, the 36-year-old produced the best figures in Test cricket for an Indian in the Caribbean. He has bettered his own 7 for 83 in Antigua during the 2016 tour. Before Ashwin’s 12-for, only senior India pacer Ishant Sharma – who picked up 10 for 108 in the 2011 Bridgetown Test – had a ten-wicket match haul in the Caribbean.

Ashwin’s 12/131 in the Dominica Test is the fourth-best performance for any bowler in the West Indies. This is also the second-best show for a spinner in the Caribbean. Ashwin is only behind legendary English spinner Tony Greig who picked up a 13-for (13 for 156) in Port of Spain in 1974.

R Ashwin Equals Anil Kumble & Rangana Herath

It was his Test career’s eighth 10-wicket haul. With that, Ashwin also equalled Kumble’s record for the most 10-wicket hauls by an Indian in Tests cricket.

With his 34th five-wicket haul in red-ball format, Ashwin has equalled former Sri Lankan spin bowling legend Rangana Herath, who also had 34 five-fors in his Test career. Ashwin is joint-fifth on the list, which is topped by Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan. Muralitharan grabbed 67 fifers in his illustrious Test career.

While matching 67 five-wicket hauls looks impossible but Ashwin will certainly reach the second spot by the end of his international career. He only needs four more fifers to jump to the second position.

Most 5 Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket

Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) – 67

Shane Warne (AUS) – 37

Sir Richard Hadlee (NZ) – 36

Anil Kumble (IND) – 35

Rangana Herath (SL) – 34

R Ashwin (IND) – 34

In the first innings, Ashwin returned with figures of 5/60 from 24.3 overs and became only the third Indian bowler to claim 700 international wickets. He (709* wickets) surpassed Harbhajan Singh (706 international wickets) to become the second most-successful Indian bowler after Anil Kumble (953 wickets).

Earlier in this Test match, Ashwin achieved the rare distinction of getting the wickets of both father and son in his career. Ashwin – who debuted in Tests in 2011 – dismissed Tagenarine Chanderpaul on the opening day of the Dominica Test. He had dismissed Tagenarine’s father Shivnarine Chanderpaul during his maiden appearance in the longest format 12 years ago.

Funnily, it is the Chanderpauls, who feature thrice in the list of the father and son duo dismissed by the same bowler. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc and South Africa’s off-spinner Simon Harmer are the other two bowlers who dismissed Shivnarine and Tagenarine.