Race to 350 Test wickets: R Ashwin vs Muttiah Muralitharan after 66 matches

For Ravichandran Ashwin, life was full of joys of spring until 2017. As India built an invincible fortress for itself on home turf, Ashwin grew into a force to reckon with in Test cricket. He emerged as the leading wicket-taker during the period between 2015 and 2017, dominated world Test rankings for bowlers, and also became the fastest to 250 (45 Tests) and 300 (54 Tests) Test wickets.

But with the start of India's overseas venture in 2018, Ashwin slowly fell back in the race to maintain his top spot and form. He struggled on unfavourable conditions amid injury issues before limelight shifted to Kuldeep Yadav after his stellar five-wicket haul in Sydney earlier this year. The young chinaman was quickly touted to be India's primary spin option by head coach Ravi Shastri, leaving Ashwin in doubts about his future in the format. But the 33-year-old looked at the situation as a new challenge to prove himself and not as a trepidation. And on being considered as part of the playing XI for the opening Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, Ashwin returned with 8 for 174 which not just included his 27th career fifer in the format, he also managed to reach yet another milestone -- 350 wickets in his just 66th innings -- becoming the joint-fastest to the landmark along with Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.

Race to 350 Test wickets

While both had reached the milestone in their 66th Test, Ashwin took 18 innings more than Muralitharan, but bowled fewer deliveries than the former Sri Lankan cricketer. Also, Ashwin reached the feat in seven years and 332 days from his debut, making him only the second-fastest in terms of days after Glenn McGrath (seven years and 227 days), while Muralitharan had taken 9 years and nine days. 

Muralitharan vs Ashwin after 66 Tests

Ashwin was, in fact, well ahead in the race. He had reached all the previous milestones -- from 50 wickets to 300 wickets -- before the legend, but his tally of 88 wickets in 2018, his lowest in a calendar year since India's overseas ventures in 2014, put him at par with Muralitharan in becoming the joint-fastest to 350 wickets. 

Well, there has been little to separate the two after 66 Tests. While Muralitharan enjoys a tad better average (24.8) than Ashwin (25.4), the latter had a far better strike rate (53.6) than the Sri Lankan legend (61.8). However, on comparing their numbers to veteran Test bowlers after 66 Tests, the aforementioned pair stands atop given the milestone they managed to achieve within the time frame, but their average and strike rate stand low in the list. And, on comparing Ashwin's numbers after 66 Tests with that of Anil Kumble, the former stands well ahead of the legend in terms of wickets, average, and strike rate. 

Players after 66 Tests

Dissecting their numbers until the landmark, Ashwin has been the better out of the two at home Tests, picking 242 wickets in 76 innings at an average of 22.71 and strike rate of 49.2 with 21 five-wicket hauls and six 10-fers, while the 47-year-old managed 206 wickets in 62 innings at an average of 22.65 and a strike rate of 65.6 with 17 fifers and four 10-fers.

On the contrary, Muralitharan had better numbers away from home comfort, taking 144 wickets at an average of 27.85 and strike rate of 66.2 with 11 five-fers and three 10-wicket hauls as against Ashwin's tally of 108 wickets at 31.39 an average and strike rate of 63.4 with six five-wicket hauls and one 10-fer.

However, the only similarity between the two has been with their effectiveness against left-handers. While Ashwin picked 183 wickets out of his total 350 against left-handed batters, Muralitharan managed 191 such wickets in his entire career. 

Another Muralitharan record in sight for Ashwin? 

The Sri Lankan also holds the record for being the fastest to 400 Test wickets having reached the feat in 72 Tests. Hence, Ashwin has only six more Tests to equal the record and with India's next four Tests scheduled at home, the offie will have to make the most of the home comfort to breach the mark.