England off spinner Graeme Swann has went passed the tally of Test victims captured by legendary Jim Laker, and has now set his eyes on breaking Laker's record of claiming 19 wickets in a Test match.
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Swann, the solitary English bowler to take a wicket as India amassed 323 for four on the first day of the Ahmedabad Test, pipped Laker's tally of 193 wickets when he dismissed Virender Sehwag for 117.
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It has taken Swann just one match more than Laker's 46 Tests to surpass that figure and he did not try to disguise his delight, despite England''s predicament in Ahmedabad.
"It was a very proud moment. I always say I'm not a stats man but I was genuinely excited when I was told I was close to Laker. So I'm very honoured to have gone past him," the Guardian quoted Swann, as saying.
Theoretically it was still possible after the first day''s play for Swann to equal or improve on Laker's 19, a feat which he achieved during the Old Trafford Test against Australia in 1956.
Swann added: "If the glass really is half full I could dream of getting all 20."
More realistically Swann acknowledged that England had their backs to the wall, having lost an important toss, which enabled Sehwag to torment a toothless pace attack.
"After the first few overs we realised we were in for the long haul. It was clearly not going to swing but we didn't expect the pitch to be so low and slow. Viru [Sehwag] took the game away from us," Swann said.
"That first session was tough but we came back strong and bowled well as a unit," he added.
Swann, who took four for 85 from 32 overs, was the only bowler to test the Indian batsmen on a dry surface that is bound to deteriorate in remaining days.
Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
