Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday bagged two elusive feats en route to his 29th career five-wicket haul as India bundled England for a mere 134 on a turning Chennai track on day 2 of the second Test. The visitors, who presently lead the Test series 1-0 after their win in the opener at the same venue, hence conceded a 195-run lead against India.
Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers on day 2 after picking five wickets, conceding 43 runs. He dismissed Dom Sibley and Dan Lawrence at the start of the innings before getting rid of Ben Stokes for the ninth time in Test cricket. He eventually returned in the final session to dismiss Olly Stone and Stuart Broad.
With the five-wicket, he equalled Australian great Glenn McGrath in the all-time list for most five-fors in Test cricket. He stands tied at seventh behind Muttiah Muralitharan (67), Shane Warner (37), Richard Hadlee (36), Anil Kumble (35), Rangana Herath (34), and James Anderson (30).
It is also his 23rd five-wicket haul at home in 45 Tests, going past Anderson's 22 in 89 home Tests. Only Muralitharan (45), Herath (26) and Kumble (25) have taken more five-fors at home than Ashwin.
With Broad's dismissal, he also became the first bowler ever to dismiss 200 left-handers in Test cricket with David Warner being his most frequent victim - 10 dismissals - followed by Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes (nine each).
