Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The legend of Ravichandran Ashwin continues to grow as the India spinner on Friday ticked off a massive milestone in his career by picking up his 500th Test wicket. Ashwin, who was stranded on 499 wickets at the end of the previous Test in Visakhapatnam, became only the second Indian bowler to scale Mount 500 after the legendary Anil Kumble and the second-fastest of all time.
Ashwin’s feat was hailed by the who’s who of world cricket, as several former cricketers jumped on to social media to extend their well-wishes and congratulations to the champion spinner. Leading the way was the great Sachin Tendulkar, whose tribute for Ashwin, easily takes the cake. “500 Test wickets for a one-in-a-million bowler! In AshWIN the SpinNER, there was always a WINNER. 500 wickets is a huge milestone in Test cricket. Congratulations, Champion,” he posted on X.
Joining Tendulkar were his former teammates Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa among others. Ashwin’s ex-Tamil Nadu teammate, DK lauded the sheer dedication and steely resolve of the India spinner that has made him stand the test of time. Ashwin has had a few injury setbacks in the past and despite not being the most agile athlete.
Karthik, Raina join in
“From Chennai to the cricketing cosmos, @ashwinravi99’s journey to 500 Test wickets is a saga of grit, guile, and unrivaled skill. A monumental achievement that cements his legacy in the annals of cricketing history. Bravo, Ashwin,” posted Karthik.
Ashwin, who earlier in the day shone with the bat scoring a highly-crucial 37 off 89 balls with six boundaries, came to India’s rescue, providing a breakthrough when England were blasting away in their response. Off to a brisk start, Ben Duckett was off the blocks with a quickfire fifty, but as England reached 89 in 13 overs, Ashwin coming round the wicket, lured Crawley into a reverse sweep but the opener missed putting bat to ball. The finger went up in an instant and it was curtains. The teammates came running in and gathered around Ashwin to celebrate one of the most standout moments of his career.
Nathan Lyon’s reaction as good as Sachin
If there was one tweet that could match up Tendulkar’s in terms of class, was one shared by Ashwin’s peer and rival Nathan Lyon. The Australia of-spinner, who began his career near about the same time as Ashwin, had previously revealed how he has learnt aplenty from his Indian counterpart, and summed up his feeling for Ash, because at the end of the day, few things top your bucket list than getting appreciation from your rival/competition.
“Hey Ash! Just want to say massive congratulations on taking 500 Test match wickets. It’s been a incredible journey to watch. I’ve got nothing but respect for the way you’ve gone about it and your skill level. It’s been amazing to compete against you but also learn so much mate. Congratulations and plenty more to come,” said Lyon in a video message posted on X.
