During the post-match press conference, Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin revealed his retirement from all formats of international cricket after the drawn test match between India and Australia in Brisbane. This announcement draws a curtain on his outstanding 14-year international cricket career, which not only defined him as the team’s match-winner but also as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of test cricket.
Considering the number of matches played, Ashwin ranks as India’s fastest test bowler to attain the milestone of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 wickets. Also, he is the second-fastest test bowler to grab 500-plus wickets in tests in 98 matches ranking behind the former legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttaiah Muralitharan, who achieved this feat in just 87 tests.
Starting from his first wicket of Darren Bravo in 2011 to his last 537th wicket of Mitchell Marsh in 2024, let’s take a closer look at the Indian veteran off-spinners sensational milestones in test cricket.
1st Test Wicket in 2011: Darren Bravo (WEST INDIES)
On 6th November 2011, Ashwin marked his test debut against West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. He claimed his first test wicket by breaking through Darren Bravo’s mistimed defensive shot that resulted in the ball striking the stumps. The Windies batter had to depart scoring just 12 runs out of 21 balls (including 2 fours) at a strike rate of 57.14.
It was the first test wicket for the off-spinner out of the 9 wickets bagged in his debut match that earned him his first Player of the Match award in tests:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 3-81 in 27 overs | 6-47 in 21.3 overs |
100th Test Wicket in 2013: Daren Sammy (WEST INDIES)
It was during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell test match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Ashwin dismissed Daren Sammy for a silver duck in the first innings and became the fastest Indian bowler to grab 100 test wickets. The all-rounder was able to reach closer to a significant landmark following his 98th and 99th dismissals of Darren Bravo and Narsingh Deonarine.
He achieved this milestone in his 18th test match played between 14th to 18th November 2013. In comparison, the former Indian off-spinner EAS Prasanna required 20 test matches to achieve this feat.
Here are the bowling figures of Ashwin in the 2nd test match of the series against West Indies:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 3-45 in 15 overs | 4-89 in 17 overs |
200th Test Wicket in 2016: Kane Williamson (NEW ZEALAND)
In the first out of the three-match test series against New Zealand, Ravichandran Ashwin required 7 wickets to attain his 200th test scalp, which was finally achieved by dismissing Kane Williamson for the second consecutive time in that game.
Also, he became the second-fastest international bowler to reach that milestone in his 37th test match played at Green Park in Kanpur as the former leg-spinner Australian CV Grimmett ranked at the top spot at that time (in 36 matches).
Ash grabbed 10 wickets in the first test, including these impressive bowling figures against the Kiwis in both innings:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 4-93 in 30.5 overs | 6-132 in 35.3 overs |
300th Test Wicket in 2017: Lahiru Gamage (SRI LANKA)
Ashwin’s 300th test wicket was achieved in his 54th test match against Sri Lanka by dismissing the Tailender Lahiru Gamage for a 9-ball-duck. His carrom ball pitched on the leg side and struck the stumps which makes him rank as the fastest bowler to reach 300 wickets in the history of test cricket.
Gamage was Ash’s 8th dismissal in the second test match of the series against Sri Lanka and his bowling figures are tabulated below:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 4-67 in 28.1 overs | 4-63 in 17.3 overs |
400th Test Wicket in 2021: Jofra Archer (ENGLAND)
Ashwin claimed his 400th test wicket in his 77th match by dismissing Jofra Archer in the third test against England played in Ahmedabad in 2021.
Though Archer reviewed for an LBW dismissal, the ball tracking technology pointed out the ball hit the middle stumps. As a result, Ashwin became the second-fastest bowler after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (72 matches) to achieve 400 test scalps with these bowling figures in the match:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 3-26 in 16 overs | 4-48 in 15 overs |
500th Test Wicket in 2024: Zak Crawley (ENGLAND)
England’s opening batter Zak Crawley’s mistimed shot caused the ball to strike the edge of the bat allowing Rajat Pathidar to take a catch resulting in Ravichandran Ashwin claiming his 500th test wicket.
Ashwin’s 98th test match at Rajkot turned out to be much more memorable, despite managing to take just 2 wickets in both innings of the game:
| 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
| 1-37 in 7 overs | 1-19 in 6 overs |
537th Test Wicket in 2024: Mitchell Marsh (AUSTRALIA)
Mitchell Marsh’s dismissal in the first innings of the 2nd test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Adelaide Oval was indeed Ashwin’s last wicket in international cricket which no one would have expected at that time. With 1-53 in 18 overs, Ashwin maintained his rankings as the leading Indian wicket-taker in the pink ball test with 19 wickets. Despite Marsh’s bat didn’t make any contact with the bat he straightaway walked back to the pavilion without even questioning the decision of the on-field umpire Richard Illingworth. Fans feel that perhaps, it was an early indication of Ash’s retirement from his cricket career
