File image of Ravichandran Ashwin© AFP
Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the cusp of some major milestones as India face Australia in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indore. Ashwin is eight wickets away from equaling the tally of Anil Kumble‘s 111 wickets in Tests against Australia and become the joint highest wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia’s Nathan Lyon is nine wickets away from equaling the tally of Anil Kumble’s 111 wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ashwin is also two wickets away from surpassing Kapil Dev‘s tally of 687 wickets in international cricket.
Also, Virat Kohli is 77 runs away from completing 4000 runs in Tests at home. Rohit Sharma is 57 runs away from completing 2000 runs in Tests at home. The India captain is 80 runs away from completing 3000 runs in international cricket as captain.
Virat has been a pillar of India’s home domination ever since he hit the international cricket scene in 2008. In 199 matches at home so far, he has scored 10,829 runs in 221 innings at an average of 58.22. He has scored 34 centuries and 51 half-centuries at home, with the best score of 254*.
However this time around, the pressure will be on Virat, who has been searching for big runs in the longer format since 2020. His numbers for 2020 (116 runs in three matches at an average of 19.33 with one fifty in six innings), 2021 (536 runs in 11 matches at an average of 28.21 with four fifties in 19 innings) and 2022 (265 in six matches at an average of 26.50 with one fifty in 11 innings) are too underwhelming for someone of his stature.
However, Virat looked in complete control during his short innings of 44 and 20 runs in both innings of the second Test in Delhi and Team India would hope that their biggest batting star will end his three-year-long drought of big runs, which will also boost India’s chances to qualify for ICC World Test Championship finals, to be played in London from June 7 onwards.
Virat has managed 76 runs in three innings in this series at an average of 25.33.
With ANI inputs
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