Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday reached a momentous landmark, as he completed 700 wickets in international cricket. Ashwin hit the milestone in the ongoing first Test between India and the West Indies being played at Windsor Park, Dominica. At the end of Day 1, India were 80/0 in response to West Indies' 150 all-out, with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal batting on 40*. 

 

 

Ashwin wasn't part of the Indian squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia, but he continued to work his magic in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, where he plays for the Dindigul Dragons.

Records galore

Ashwin's 700th scalp came in the form of Alzarri Joseph, as he tried to go for the big hit off a carrom ball but ended up misjudging it. In the process, the off-spinner also racked up his 33rd five-wicket haul in Test cricket, his third in the Windies and his fifth in an India-West Indies series. The No.1 ranked bowler has now joined an elite club of top Indian wicket-takers that is dominated by spinners, with Anil Kumble (953) at the helm, followed by Harbhajan Singh with 707 wickets. With two more Tests in the series and a potential second innings in the current Test match, Ashwin will have an opportunity to go past Harbhajan and claim the second spot in the list.

 

 

It wasn't the only highlight of an eventful day 1 in Dominica, which saw Ashwin dismissing Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of former West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The dismissal lodged a rather unusual record in Ashwin's name, a first for India in Test cricket.