Ashwin 49 going on 50: All the Numbers

As Ashwin plays his 50th Test, Rajneesh Gupta gives us the offie's awesome numbers.

IMAGE: Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates his 50th Test match. Photograph: BCCI/Twitter

Since making his Test debut against the West Indies in November 2011, Ravichandran Ashwin has grown in stature.

His ability to consistently fox batsmen has seen him become India's leading Test bowler with 275 scalps in 49 games.

As the off-spinner plays his landmark 50th Test in Galle Rajneesh Gupta gives us Ashwin's numbers.

His 275 Test wickets in 49 Tests means Ashwin has better figures than spin legends Anil Kumble and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar at this juncture in their Test careers.

In February Ashwin went past pace great Dennis Lillee to become the fastest to 250 wickets (45 Tests).

He is also the most successful Test bowler in Tests going into his 50th Test.

When his 10 best performances in in 50 Tests or less are compared with Kumble and Harbhajan Singh -- the two other modern-day spin wizards -- his impact on the game becomes apparent.

Those 10 best bowling figures (4 of which were 7 wicket hauls) have all resulted in wins, except for the one in Galle versus Sri Lanka in 2015.

The last table shows that only Harbhajan has more seven-fors and one eight wicket haul although he has lesser Test wickets than Ashwin after 49 Tests.

Most successful Indian bowlers after 49 Tests

	Wickets	Average	Strike Rate	5 Wickets in an Innings	10 Wickets in a Test
Ravi Ashwin	275	25.23	52.51	25	7
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar	217	28.03	64.08	14	2
Anil Kumble	213	28.49	71.12	11	1
Harbhajan Singh	209	28.54	62.37	16	3
Kapil Dev	197	29.32	55.23	15	1
Bishan Singh Bedi	194	27.80	82.18	9	0
Erapalli Prasanna	189	30.38	75.94	10	2
Javagal Srinath	183	29.85	62.71	7	1
Vinoo Mankad	162	32.32	90.65	8	2
Zaheer Khan	157	33.39	60.31	5	0

Note: The great Vinoo Mankad played only 44 Tests

Most successful bowlers after 49 Tests

	Wickets	Average	Strike Rate	5Wickets in an Innings	10 Wickets in a Test
Ravi Ashwin (Ind)	275	25.23	52.51	25	7
Dennis Lillee	259	22.96	50.02	18	5
Dale Steyn	255	22.82	39.35	16	4
Allan Donald	248	21.91	45.88	16	2
Waqar Younis	241	21.83	40.79	19	4
Muttiah Muralitharan	235	26.86	65.24	17	2
Malcolm Marshall	233	21.48	46.42	14	2
Glenn McGrath	232	22.60	51.52	15	1
Imran Khan	232	22.91	54.10	16	4
Alec Bedser	231	24.21	66.56	15	5

Ashwin's best performances in Test cricket

Figures	Versus	Season	Venue	Result
7/59	New Zealand	2016-17	Indore	Won
7/66	South Africa	2015-16	Nagpur	Won
7/83	West Indies	2016	North Sound	Won
7/103	Australia	2012-13	Chennai	Won
6/31	New Zealand	2012	Hyderabad	Won
6/41	Australia	2016-17	Bangalore	Won
6/46	Sri Lanka	2015	Galle	Lost
6/47	West Indies	2011-12	Delhi	Won
6/54	New Zealand	2012	Hyderabad	Won
6/55	England	2016-17	Mumbai WS	Won

Kumble's best performances in Test cricket

Figures	Versus	Season	Venue	Result
7/59	Sri Lanka	1993-94	Lucknow	Won
6/53	South Africa	1992-93	Johannesburg	Drawn
6/64	England	1992-93	Chennai	Won
6/98	Australia	1997-98	Bangalore	Lost
5/62	Australia	1997-98	Kolkata	Won
5/67	Australia	1996-97	Delhi	Won
5/70	Zimbabwe	1992-93	Delhi	Won
5/81	New Zealand	1995-96	Bangalore	Won
5/87	Sri Lanka	1993-94	Colombo SSC	Won
5/104	West Indies	1996-97	Port-of-Spain	Drawn

Harbhajan's best performances in Test cricket

Figures	Versus	Season	Venue	Result
8/84	Australia	2000-01	Chennai	Won
7/48	West Indies	2002-03	Mumbai WS	Won
7/87	South Africa	2004-05	Kolkata	Won
7/123	Australia	2000-01	Kolkata	Won
7/133	Australia	2000-01	Chennai	Won
6/62	Zimbabwe	2001-02	Delhi	Won
6/73	Australia	2000-01	Kolkata	Won
6/78	Australia	2004-05	Bangalore	Lost
6/152	Pakistan	2004-05	Bangalore	Lost
5/29	Australia	2004-05	Mumbai WS	Won

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