India vs England: Ashwin, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Joe Root eye big records in Test series

India v England: Players eye big records

Bengaluru, February 1: India will start the home Test series against England with the first Test at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai, from February 5. Cricketers from both India and England will be confident after respective series win in Australia and Sri Lanka recently.

India defeated Australia 2-1 in a four-match series, while England scored an equally impressive 2-0 triumph over the Lankans. In that context, India and England cricketers will resume their Test journey with confident and will be eager to attain a few personal milestones as well.

MyKhel takes a look at some of the approaching milestones in the series.

1. Jasprit Bumrah eyes 100th Test wicket

India's pace spearhead had missed the Brisbane Test with an abdomen niggle. But since then he had recovered and should be in for the first Test. Bumrah now has 79 wickets from 17 Tests and require 21 more to reach the 100-wicket milestone in Test cricket. R Ashwin is the quickest to that mark among Indians, reaching the three-figure mark in just 18 Tests followed by EAS Prasanna (20 Tests) and Anil Kumble (21 Tests).

2. R Ashwin keen on 400th Test wicket

The veteran off-spinner now has 377 Test wickets from 74 Tests and need 23 more to reach the magical figure of 400 Test wickets. Like Bumrah, Ashwin too had missed the Brisbane Test against Australia with a back niggle. But he too has recovered and looks set to join the Playing 11 in his hometown Chennai. If he manages that feat, Ashwin will be the fourth Indian bowler to cross 400 wickets in Tests. Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417) are other Indian bowlers.

3. Can James Anderson go past Kumble?

The England pacer now has 606 wickets in Test cricket from 157 Tests. They are brilliant numbers already. The Lancashire man will be keen to overtake Anil Kumble as the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. Kumble has 619 wickets and Anderson needs 14 wickets from the series to achieve that feat. Anderson showed that his efficiency in sub-continental conditions is not to be scoffed at while picking up 6 wickets in the first innings of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka recently.

Anderson is also the highest wicket-taker against India in Test cricket - 110 from 27 Tests. In India, he has 26 wickets from 10 Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan is second in the list with 105 wickets. Anderson can also equal Alistair Cook for most number of Tests played for England - 161. But for that the pacer needs to play all four Tests.

4. Joe Root to play 100th Test

Root has played 99 Tests so far and the England captain will appear in his 100th Test during the first Test at the Chepauk. Root has 8249 runs at 49.39 with 19 hundreds and 49 fifties. Root has scored 1624 runs from 16 Tests in Asia at an average of 54.13 including 4 hundreds, and only David Gower averages more in Asia among the England batsman.

5. Moeen Ali eyes a rare club

The England all-rounder can reach a rare club if he manages 218 runs and 19 wickets from this series. Ali can enter the 3000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests club and it is a rarefied zone as only three other England cricketers are members in it - Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Broad.