Ashwin-Jadeja duo reach 500 Test wickets, second Indian spin pairing to achieve the feat

The 100th Test between India and West Indies clocked another milestone on Sunday when Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja became the second Indian pair of spinners to pick 500 Test wickets. Hitherto only the legendary spinner Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh held the record.

The record was set on Day 4 when Ashwin dismissed the debutant West Indies player Kirk McKenzie for a duck after having sent the hosts’ skipper Kraigg Brathwaite back to the pavilion with a magical delivery. This was also the fourth time that Ashwin dismissed Brathwaite.

Ashwin and Jadeja have 274 and 226 Test wickets respectively in the matches they have played together. The second Test against West Indies is the 49th Test for the pairing and they have 32 five-wicket and eight 10-wicket hauls.

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While, Ashwin, the senior between both, is close to 500 Test wickets, Jadeja, an all-rounder not a specialist bowler, has only assumed the role gradually with time. However, with his batting potential, Jadeja has often kept his senior out of the playing XI.

The pair of Kumble and Harbhajan took 54 matches together to gather 500 wickets: Anil Kumble (281) and Harbhajan Singh (220). Ashwin and Jadeja reached the milestone in just 49 matches.

Before Kumble and Harbhajan, the record for having the most no. of Test wickets for a pair of Indian spinners was held by Bishan Bedi and BS Chandrasekhar at 368 dismissals: 184 wickets each.

The Ashwin-Jadeja duo has played an important role in establishing India as a dominant Test side. Both complement each other; While Jadeja keeps it tight and goes for the stumps, Ashwin gets the leeway to be bold and take risks.

During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, Ashwin even praised his partner with the ball.

“Massive help is an understatement. He’s been in phenomenal form. The way he’s batted, the way he’s bowled and we don’t have to talk about how well he moves in the field. He’s been a fantastic cricketer. I’m so thankful for the fact that I’ve got a partner like him to be bowling alongside me,” Ashwin had said.

The duo played a crucial role in the series against the Aussies and picked up 47 wickets. India won the series 2-1.

The ongoing Test is also the 500th international match for Indian batter Virat Kohli; He made it special by scoring a century, his 76th overall and 29th in Tests. This was made special still by the fact that this was his first Test century overseas in five years — his last Test century came in 2018  in Australia.

Coming to the match in progress, West Indies were 76/2 at stumps Day 4. They need 289 runs more to win.

Earlier, India scored 438 runs in their first innings, and West Indies’ were bowled out at  just 255 runs. India declared their second innings at 181/2, leaving a target of 365 for the hosts.