Ravichandran Ashwin in action. (Courtesy: BCCI/X)
Team India spin pair Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja surpassed the legendary pair of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to record the most wickets for an Indian bowling pair. Ashwin and Jadeja picked up the first three wickets on Day 1 of the 1st Test against England in Hyderabad on Thursday to record 503 wickets in unison.
The legendary pair of Kumble and Harbhajan had scalped 501 wickets while bowling in tandem. In the third spot, the spin and pace pair of Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan scalped 474 wickets together while Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin have picked up 431.
Most Test Wickets by an Indian Bowling Pair:-
502* – Ashwin and Jadeja
501 – Kumble and Harbhajan
474 – Harbhajan and Zaheer
431 – Umesh and AshwinSPIN TWINS FOR A REASON!!!#INDvsENG #ENGvsIND pic.twitter.com/wZwH1P2jQG
— Abhi (@ASUVARNA66) January 25, 2024
After England opted to bat in the first Test, Ashwin picked up the first wicket in form of opener Ben Duckett. It was Jadeja who picked up the second wicket for the day as he dismissed Ollie Pope for 1 run. The veteran India off-spinner later got rid off Zak Crawley in the 16th over to rattle the England top-order.
Ashwin-Jadeja picked up five wickets in unison when Jadeja disturbed debutant Tom Hartley”s stumps. The tailender made a quick-fire contribution of 23 runs off 24 deliveries, which included two boundaries and one six.
However, the spin duo will look to get rid of England captain Ben Stokes who was unbeaten on 43 off 66 deliveries at tea on Day 1. He started his knock on a cautious note before changing gears to hit five boundaries. Meanwhile, tailender Mark Wood (7 off 16 deliveries) will return to bat with him for the final session.
