For Ravichandran Ashwin, team comes ahead of personal records

On Saturday, India gained a lead in the Test series against Sri Lanka by sealing the first match at Galle. The No.1 Test team defeated the hosts by 304 runs inside 4 days. While it was a much-needed victory for India, the match held a special significance for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The man from Chennai was playing his 50th Test match for the national team.

After the match, the 30-year-old was handed a special award for his contributions towards the national team. Currently, the owner of 279 wickets, Ashwin broke the record of Dennis Lille for being the fastest bowler to reach to 250 Test scalps. After the match, Ashwin tweeted his picture with the award. The caption of the image read- “Memorable test, will cherish it forever. Never thought I would get here.”

He was later congratulated by teammate Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara, who scored a classy 153 in the first innings of the match, tweeted his picture with the man of the moment. He captioned it as “Congratulations on the 50th test, @ashwinravi99! It’s been quite a wonderful journey for you so far. Best wishes ahead. More power to you!” the caption read.”

“For me it’s always teams first. Since my childhood days when I dreamt of playing for India I had one goal and that is to take Indian cricket to greater heights. I don’t have any specific goals at all. I don’t have any numbers in front of my eyes to achieve. I just want to give my best for the country and in the process I know I can achieve something for myself as well,” said Ashwin after the match.

Another record-breaking by R Ashwin on the cards?

Ashwin has the golden opportunity to break another record that is very much in his way. He can become the faster bowler to take 300 wickets. Till date, Dennis Lille holds the record of being fastest to 300 Test wickets. Lille did it in 56 matches. Ashwin is just 21 wickets away and with time on his side, the fans can very much expect him to break another record held by the Aussie legend.