It was raining records during the five-match Test series between India and England as the former established their dominance by winning the contest by 4-1. While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Dhruv Jurel can be termed as the rising stars of the Indian cricket team following the conclusion of the Test matches, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who truly managed to hog all the limelight.
While Ashwin rattled the England batters throughout the five-match series, the last game was extra special since he took on the field for the record 100th time for the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game. The spinner made the game extra special by picking a five-wicket haul and becoming the Indian bowler with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.
In this article, let’s walk through four players who have achieved the impressive milestone of picking a five-wicket haul in their 100th Test match.
#1 Shane Warne
The Australian cricket team was on a three-match Test series tour to South Africa in February-March 2002 when Shane Warne played his 100th Test match and etched his name in the record books in the golden letters.
As the Kangaroos entered the second Test match of the series at the Newlands in Cape Town, Warne was all set to create history. It was a lukewarm start to Shane’s 100th Test match as he could pick up only two wickets in the first bowling innings while conceding runs at an economy rate of 2.5.
Shane Warne was the first to pick up a five-wicket haul in his 100th Test match
However, he made up for it in Australia’s final bowling innings by picking up six wickets and becoming the first bowler in the cricket world to pick up a five-wicket haul during his 100th Test match.
The wrist-spinner made Herschelle Gibbs his first wicket in the second innings and followed it up with scalps of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Makhaya Ntini, and Dewald Pretorius. For his record-breaking performance, Warne took home the Player of the Match award while Australia won the Test match by four wickets.
#2 Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble was not only the first Indian and second player overall to pick up a five-wicket haul in the 100th Test match but also the first Indian spinner to feature in a memorable 100th Test match.
Kumble achieved this monumental feat during the final Test of the three-match series against Sri Lanka in 2005 at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad and the spinner picked up two wickets during India’s first bowling innings as Sri Lanka collapsed at a score of 206 runs while following India’s score of 398 runs.
Meanwhile, it was the second innings that saw the legendary spinner scripting history as he picked up a total of five wickets by dismissing Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Farveez Maharoof, and Malinga Bandara.
The former Indian skipper bowled a total of 34.3 overs during the second innings and ended up leaking 89 runs at an economy rate of 2.59. Though Harbhajan Singh was awarded the Player of the Match award, Kumble was given the Player of the Series award as India won the series 2-0.
#3 Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan is the only Sri Lankan bowler to feature in this elite list of bowlers with a five-wicket haul in their 100th Test match. Muttiah played his 100th Test match against the Bangladesh cricket team in 2006 as Sri Lanka locked horns with Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series in Chattogram.
It was a sweet start for Muralitharan during Bangladesh’s first batting innings as he dismissed three batters including Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, and Khaled Mashud. Meanwhile, his best performance came during the third innings of the match as the bowler dismissed a total of six batters at an economy rate of 2.72.
His wickets included the likes of Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Ashraful, Khaled Mashud, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Rafique, and Enamul Haque Jr. In total, during his 100th test match, Muttiah picked a whopping nine wickets while conceding 141 runs.
The historic spell was fruitful for Sri Lanka as well with the team recording a victory by eight wickets. Following the exploits of the legend, Bangladesh was restricted to scores of 319 and 181 across two innings.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin created history during the final Test of the five-match series against England as he made his 100th Test match memorable by picking up a five-wicket haul. Interestingly, he became the first international bowler in the cricket world to bag a five-wicket haul on his debut as well as his 100th match.
Ashwin achieved the glorious feat during the recently concluded five-match Test series between India and England
The Indian spinner kick-started his 100th Test match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala with four wickets in the first innings. He dismissed Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, and James Anderson while conceding 51 runs in 11.4 overs.
It was India’s second bowling innings that saw a record-breaking performance by the spinner as recorded the bowling figures of 14-0-77-5. Ashwin managed to send Zack Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, and Foakes back to the pavilion to restrict England to a score of 195 runs in 48.1 overs.
The impressive bowling figures of 9/128 helped the off-spinner record his name in the record books for more than one reason. He now has the most five-wicket hauls for the Indian cricket team in the purest format of the game i.e. 36.
The previous record was held by Anil Kumble who was topping the list with a total of 35 fivers to his name. Meanwhile, Ashwin also took his tally of wickets against England to 114 to have the most Test wickets against a team by an Indian bowler.