Ashwin equals Murali's record; joint fastest to 350 wickets

India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the joint fastest to take 350 wickets, matching Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan's feat in his 66th Test.

"Obviously, this things happen over a period of time, we can't plan for any of these things. I am very lucky in terms of where I got in my career, in terms of racing up in all these records. But it is important to stick to the process and basics, keep it as simple as possible," Ashwin told BCCI.tv.

Ashwin, who had taken his 27th five-wicket haul in the first innings of the opening Test against South Africa, castled Theunis de Bruyn with one that turned back sharply from wide outside the off stump for his milestone wicket on Day 5, in Visakhapatnam.

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The 33-year-old took just five balls to provide India the breakthrough in the morning session with South African chasing an improbable target of 395 runs.

Talking about his preparation, Ashwin said: "I want to keep it as straight forward and simple as possible. I want to be as prepared as possible, trying to tick all the boxes ahead of a game, trying to be in the best possible mental and physical space getting into a match."

"All these are things that I play inside my head and be as prepared as possible getting into a game," added the wily off-spinner, who has answered his critics with a stellar show in the first Test of the home season.

Ashwin, who played his first international game since December 2018, warmed the bench in the two-Test series in the West Indies in August-September with Ravindra Jadeja being the preferred choice.

Ahead of the first Test, skipper Virat Kohli had said that Ashwin remains India's go to spinner in home conditions.

Ashwin had taken seven wickets in the first innings to finish with a total of eight wickets in the match. India beat South Africa by 203 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.