Once against proving his credentials in white-ball cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin put on a show with the ball as India took on Australia in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series. The marquee spinner, who hasn’t been in India’s scheme of things in the 50-over format for long, made a strong case for ODI World Cup selection with his performance against the mighty Aussies. As Ashwin claimed three wickets in the Indore match, he went on to shatter an all-time record that was held by the legendary Anil Kumble.
With figures of 3 for 41 against Australia, Ashwin played a pivotal role in India’s 99-run victory (DLS). With these three wickets, Ashwin went to 144 scalps against Australia in international cricket.
The record was earlier held by Kumble who has 142 wickets against the Aussies. Now, Ashwin has the most wickets for an Indian against a single opponent in international cricket.
Following the duo are Kapil Dev (141 vs Pakistan), Kumble (135 vs Pakistan), and Kapil (132 vs West Indies).
While Ashwin would hope to see such performances of his earn him a spot in India’s World Cup squad, former Australia captain Aaron Finch doesn’t think that would happen.
“I think that depends on how they think the surfaces are going to play throughout the country, and by that time, I think the skill in picking a squad for the World Cup is you have to think of the back end. But you can’t think too much about it because you have to get there,” Finch said on Star Sports.
“I think he might struggle to make it to the final 15, but as somebody who has played so much cricket, I think the rest of the group that is with the Indian team for this current series against Australia, they could learn so much about big game play. Because Ashwin is somebody that stands up in big games, whether it’s a test match or a T20 game, he has done it all throughout his career. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s there at the moment as a mentor around the group, but I don’t see him making that last 15, unfortunately,” he added.
With Axar Patel injured, Ashwin could find a spot in India’s 15-man squad for the World Cup.
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