IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Ravichandran Ashwin Close To 500 Club, Becomes India's Leading Wicket-Taker vs England

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Senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday (February 5) got closer to the Test 500 club and also went on to become India's leading wicket-taker against England in the longest format of the game.

The 37-year-old, who started the match with 495 wickets, moved closer 500 Test scalps during day 4 of the second Test between India and England at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

After going wicket-less in the first innings of the second Test, Ashwin removed Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Joe Root in the second innings to reach 499 wickets in Test cricket. If he claims his 500th wicket, Ashwin will become the ninth bowler to achieve the feat.

Ashwin will also become the fourth spinner and second Indian after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble to achieve the feat of 500 or more wickets in Test crcket history. Here is a look at the top 10 wicket takers in Test:

Top 10 Highest Test Wicket-Takers

• Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) - 800 wickets in 133 Tests
• Shane Warne (Australia) - 707 wickets in 145 Tests
• James Anderson (England) - 695 wickets in 184 Tests
• Anil Kumble (India) - 619 wickets in 132 Tests
• Stuart Broad (England) - 604 wickets in 167 Tests
• Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 563 wickets in 124 Tests
• Courtney Walsh (West Indies) - 519 wickets in 132 Tests
• Nathan Lyon (Australia) - 517 wickets in 127 Tests
• Ravichandran Ashwin (India) - 499 wickets in 97 Tests
• Dale Steyn (South Africa) - 439 wickets in 93 Tests

Earlier on Monday (February 5), Ashwin broke the record of former Indian leg-spinner BS Chandrasekhar for bowler to take most wickets for India against England in Test cricket.

BS Chandrasekhar had taken 95 English wickets in his Test career, followed by Anil Kumble (92), Bishan Singh Bedi/Kapil Dev (85) and Ishant Sharma (67). Now, Ashwin leads the chart for most wickets by Indian bowler vs England in Tests.

Ashwin, who came into the fourth day's play with the scalp of Ben Duckett, removed Pope and Root to further increase his tally from 95 wickets to 97 wickets vs England. Here is a look at the top wicket-takers for India vs England in Tests:

Highest Wicket-Taker For India vs England in Tests

1. R Ashwin - 97 wickets in 21 Matches
2. BS Chandrasekhar - 95 wickets in 23 Matches
3. Anil Kumble - 92 Wickets in 19 Matches
4. Bishan Singh Bedi - 85 wickets in 22 Matches
5. Kapil Dev - 85 wickets in 27 Matches

The seasoned off-spinner has taken the most wickets against Australia, having claimed 114 scalps in 22 Tests. Ashwin has also claimed more than 50 wickets each against West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Here is a breakdown of his Test wickets:

Ashwin's Test Wickets Breakdown - Wickets vs Each Team

• Australia - 114 wickets in 22 matches
• England - 97 wickets in 21 matches
• West Indies - 75 wickets in 13 matches
• New Zealand - 66 wickets in 9 matches
• Sri Lanka - 62 wickets in 11 matches
• South Africa - 57 wickets in 14 matches
• Bangladesh - 23 wickets in 6 matches
• Afghanistan - 5 wickets in 1 match