The Test in Bengaluru proved forgettable for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, but things have taken a turn for him now in the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Captain Rohit Sharma pushed him into the attack before the 10th over of New Zealand’s innings. He became the leading wicket-taker in the World Test Championship (WTC) history after he dismissed Will Young. He had already dismissed the captain of New Zealand, Tom Latham, so this wicket took him closer to equating that record set by Nathan Lyon.
🚨HISTORIC MOMENT IN CRICKET🚨
Ravi Ashwin has just become the Leading Wicket-Taker in World Test Championship History.✨
A monumental achievement for an incredible cricketer.
Take a bow, #RaviAshwin !#WTC25 #INDvNZ
pic.twitter.com/6MyBvi5ySh---Advertisement---— CricCrazyDeepak (@CricCrazyDeepak) October 24, 2024
Also Read: IND Vs NZ: ‘Panic’ In Indian Team? Sunil Gavaskar Questions The Decision To Make 3 Changes
R Ashwin Surpasses Nathan Lyon’s Record
The closest rivals, Lyon reached that tally in 43 matches while Ashwin managed to do it in 39 matches. A tally of 189 WTC wickets places Ashwin at the top slot ahead of Lyon with 187. Australian bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are on the third and fourth position respectively. They have 175 and 147 wickets. England’s Stuart Broad, who has just announced his retirement, takes up the fifth position with 134 wickets.
Most wickets For ICC World Test Championship
| Bowler | Matches | Total Wickets |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 39 | 189 |
| Nathan Lyon | 43 | 187 |
| Pat Cummins | 42 | 175 |
| Mitchell Starc | 38 | 147 |
| Stuart Broad | 33 | 134 |
Ashwin Dominant In 2nd Test Against New Zealand
Young was dismissed by Ashwin, but at this point, both the bowlers have equalized Lyon’s total Test wicket tally to 530 in the longest format. Ashwin needs 33 more wickets to surpass McGrath and become the sixth highest wicket-taker in the Test history. He is planning for a career finish with more than 619 wickets, crossing Anil Kumble.
Top-Wicket Takers In Test Format
Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan leads the list with 800 Test wickets taken, followed by Australia’s Shane Warne with 708 and England’s James Anderson with 704. It is completed by Kumble and Broad at the second-to-fifth position respectively with wickets of 619 and 604.
Also Read: IND Vs NZ: Why Has KL Rahul Been Dropped From The 2nd Test?
IND Vs NZ, 2nd Test: Three New Changes For India
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first in the ongoing Test match. As early as the first session, Tom Latham and Will Young were back in the pavilion. In the series opener at Bengaluru, the BlackCaps had comprehensively beaten India by eight wickets. Team India decided to make big changes and bench the star batter KL Rahul, apart from him Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were also made to sit out. Interestingly, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Akashdeep came in.
