Ashwin bests Lilee, Murali, Warne

ESPNCricinfo: In only his 54th match, R Ashwin became the quickest bowler to take 300 wickets in Test history. His 4 for 63 in the second innings in Nagpur not only helped India wrap up their biggest win in the format, and but also meant he took over from Dennis Lillee (56 Tests) as the new record holder. Ashwin also beat Muttiah Muralitharan, who had been the fastest spinner to 300 wickets, by as many as four Tests.

Ashwin is only the eighth spinner in the world to achieve 300 Test wickets, following his countrymen Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Among all India bowlers, only four others have got to the landmark. A telling measure of Ashwin’s effectiveness is that, among spinners, he required the fewest balls to get to 300 wickets. He edged Shane Warne out by a small matter of 424 overs.

Not surprisingly, Ashwin’s strike-rate is much better than those of other spinners at the end of the Test in which they reached 300 wickets. In fact, among bowlers from the subcontinent only Waqar Younis has fared batter. Among all 31 players who have taken at least 300 wickets, only 10 had a better strike-rate at the end of the Test in which they raised the milestone.

Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 and has taken just over six years to get to 300 wickets, helped by the increase in number of matches India have played in the last few years . That places him second only to Warne, who took exactly six years to get there. Among India bowlers, Kapil Dev was the quickest. He took eight years and 80 days.

Record-breaker Ashwin eyeing 600 Test wickets

AFP: Indian spin king Ravichandran Ashwin said Monday he wanted to double his tally of 300 Test wickets after becoming the fastest bowler to the mark against Sri Lanka.

Ashwin surpassed Australia’s pace legend Dennis Lillee, achieving the milestone in his 54th Test. Lillee took 56 matches to reach the same mark. “I really hope I can go on to double these 300 wickets. I’ve only played 50 Tests,” said the 31-year-old off-spinner after India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 238 runs on the fourth day of the second Test in Nagpur.

“It’s not easy bowling spin, it looks like you’re just ambling up. But there’s a lot (that goes) behind it.”

The mercurial spinner, ranked fourth among top the top 10 bowlers, dismissed number eleven batsman Lahiru Gamage for nought to return impressive match figures of 8-130.

Ashwin, who made his debut against the West Indies in 2011, is India’s premier spin bowler and has often achieved top positions in the International Cricket Council rankings.

He had also surpassed Lillee in the race to 250 wickets in his 45th Test against Bangladesh early this year.

Ashwin also has 150 one-day wickets in 111 matches and 52 wickets in 46 Twenty20 games.