 "R Ashwin becomes fastest Indian bowler to take 500 wickets in Test cricket")
Veteran spinner R Ashwin became the fastest Indian bowler to take 500 wickets in Test cricket as he took only 98 Tests to reach the landmark. He reached the milestone of 500 wickets during the India vs England 3rd Test in Rajkot on Friday (February 16). Zak Crawley was R Ashwin's 500th wicket in Test cricket.
Check India vs England 3rd Test Day 4 live score and match updates here
Also, Ashwin is the only Indian bowler after legend Anil Kumble to take 500 wickets in Test cricket. Anil Kumble is the leading wicket-taker for India in Test cricket history with 619 scalps to his name.
Second fastest to 500 Test wickets
37-year-old Ashwin is only the second bowler after Sri Lanka’s Muttaiah Muralidaran to reach 500 wickets in less than 100 Tests. Murali reached 500 wickets in only 87 matches. Ashwin, the fastest Indian to reach 50, 100, 150, 200, 350, 400 and 450 Test wickets, is the fastest in the world to reach 250 and 300 Test wickets.
| Ashwin landmark in Test cricket | |||
| Milestone Wickets | Against | Match | Year |
| 50 | England | 9 | 2011 |
| 100 | West Indies | 18 | 2013 |
| 150 | South Africa | 29 | 2015 |
| 200 | New Zealand | 37 | 2016 |
| 250 | Bangladesh | 45 | 2017 |
| 300 | Sri Lanka | 54 | 2017 |
| 350 | South Africa | 66 | 2019 |
| 400 | England | 77 | 2021 |
| 450 | Australia | 89 | 2023 |
| 500 | England | 98 | 2024 |
Most wickets in the history of Test cricket
Muthaiah Muralidaran is the highest wicket-taker in the history of red-ball cricket. In 133 matches, Muralidaran took 800 wickets. Muralidaran is followed by Shane Warne, James Anderson, Anil Kumble and Stuart Broad among others.
| Most wickets in Test cricket history | ||||||||
| Player | Span | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | Four-wicket haul | Five-wicket haul |
| Muthaiah Muralidaran (ICC/SL) | 1992-2010 | 133 | 800 | 9/51 | 22.72 | 2.47 | 45 | 67 |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 1992-2007 | 145 | 708 | 8/71 | 25.41 | 2.65 | 48 | 37 |
| James Anderson (ENG) | 2003-2024 | 184* | 695 | 7/42 | 26.34 | 2.78 | 32 | 32 |
| Anil Kumble (IND) | 1990-2008 | 132 | 619 | 10/74 | 29.65 | 2.69 | 31 | 35 |
| Stuart Broad (ENG) | 2007-2023 | 167 | 604 | 8/15 | 27.68 | 2.97 | 28 | 20 |
| Glenn McGrath (AUS) | 1993-2007 | 124 | 563 | 8/24 | 21.64 | 2.49 | 28 | 29 |
| Courtney Walsh (WI) | 1984-2001 | 132 | 519 | 7/37 | 24.44 | 2.53 | 32 | 22 |
| NM Lyon (AUS) | 2011-2024 | 127 | 517 | 8/50 | 30.73 | 2.93 | 23 | 23 |
| R Ashwin (IND) | 2011-2024 | 98* | 500 | 7/59 | 23.82 | 2.78 | 24 | 34 |
| Dale Steyn (SA) | 2004-2019 | 93 | 439 | 7/51 | 22.95 | 3.24 | 27 | 26 |
Ashwin career stats: Overall and away Tests
| Ashwin stats away and overall | ||||||||||
| Span | Matches | Runs | Highest score | Batting average | Hundreds | Wickets | BBI | Five-wicket hauls | Catches | |
| Overall | 2011-2024 | 98 | 3271 | 124 | 26.59 | 5 | 500 | 7/59 | 34 | 32 |
| Outside India | 2011-2023 | 39 | 1456 | 118 | 26 | 2 | 149 | 7/71 | 8 | 13 |
Ashwin wickets in SENA countries
| Ashwin career stats in SENA countries, Bangladesh and West Indies | ||||||||||
| Span | Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | |
| in Australia | 2011-2021 | 10 | 384 | 62 | 24 | 0 | 39 | 4/55 | 42.15 | 0 |
| in Bangladesh | 2015-2022 | 3 | 114 | 58 | 57 | 0 | 12 | 5/87 | 28.41 | 1 |
| in England | 2014-2018 | 6 | 232 | 46* | 25.77 | 0 | 14 | 4/62 | 32.92 | 0 |
| in New Zealand | 2020-2020 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3/99 | 33 | 0 |
| in South Africa | 2013-2023 | 7 | 205 | 46 | 15.76 | 0 | 11 | 4/113 | 49.63 | 0 |
| in Sri Lanka | 2015-2017 | 6 | 226 | 58 | 25.11 | 0 | 38 | 6/46 | 21.57 | 3 |
| in West Indies | 2016-2023 | 6 | 291 | 118 | 58.2 | 2 | 32 | 7/71 | 19.34 | 4 |
| Ashwin in away Tests year-wise | |||||||||
| Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | |
| year 2011 | 1 | 61 | 31 | 30.5 | 0 | 4 | 3/81 | 35.25 | 0 |
| year 2012 | 2 | 102 | 62 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 3/194 | 84.8 | 0 |
| year 2013 | 1 | 18 | 11* | 18 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
| year 2014 | 4 | 168 | 46* | 28 | 0 | 10 | 3/72 | 43.8 | 0 |
| year 2015 | 5 | 147 | 58 | 18.37 | 0 | 31 | 6/46 | 23.29 | 3 |
| year 2016 | 4 | 235 | 118 | 58.75 | 2 | 17 | 7/83 | 23.17 | 2 |
| year 2017 | 3 | 132 | 54 | 44 | 0 | 17 | 5/69 | 25.88 | 1 |
| year 2018 | 7 | 246 | 38 | 20.5 | 0 | 24 | 4/62 | 30.16 | 0 |
| year 2020 | 3 | 33 | 15 | 6.6 | 0 | 13 | 4/55 | 21.23 | 0 |
| year 2021 | 2 | 67 | 39* | 22.33 | 0 | 4 | 2/18 | 56 | 0 |
| year 2022 | 4 | 183 | 58 | 30.5 | 0 | 8 | 4/71 | 46.62 | 0 |
| year 2024 | 4 | 64 | 56 | 21.33 | 0 | 17 | 7/71 | 16.62 | 2 |