Ravichandran Ashwin leapfrogs Anil Kumble in another impressive Asian Test feat

It is hard to keep Ravichandran Ashwin out of the game, especially when you are playing in India. The iconic off-spinner racked up another impressive feat, this time leapfrogging Anil Kumble to climb up the ladder. While Bangladesh stabilized through the half-century partnership of their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto and an unbeaten Mominul Haque, it was Ashwin who provided India a crucial breakthrough.

Ashwin scalped the Bangladeshi skipper with a straighter delivery that went onto hit his pads while he wobbled in front of the stumps. In the process, not only did he break the partnership but also claimed his 420th wicket in Test cricket which took him above Anil Kumble in terms of wickets registered in Asia, now only behind the iconic Muttiah Muralitharan.

Ash entered an elite club, beating sheening monikers that featured the likes of Kumble, Rangana Herath, Harbhajan Singh among others. However, he will need more than just clinical numbers to beat the Sri Lankan off-spinner, who has a momentous lead with 523 wickets in Asia in Tests.

420 of Ashwin’s 523 Test wickets have come in the Asian countries where he has bowled with a shining average of 21.38. In Tests in India, he has even better with numbers of 370 wickets at an average of 21.13.

Given below is the list of top-five wicket takers in Tests in Asia:

Muttiah Muralitharan: 612

Ravichandran Ashwin: 420*

Anil Kumble: 419

Rangana Herath: 354

Harbhajan Singh: 300