Ishant Sharma becomes 4th Indian fast bowler to pick 100 Test wickets in Asia

The final Test between India and England began on an exciting note as the opening session of the first day saw a couple of record tumble. The very first delivery of the day witnessed Alastair Cook become the quickest batsman (in terms of career time-span) in the history of the game to complete 11,000 runs. He needed just two runs to achieve the record.

The English skipper, who is reckoned to be the man who can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 200 Tests and most runs in Test cricket. Unfortunately, today wasn’t his day as he was dismissed for just 10 by Ravindra Jadeja in the first hour of the game itself.

Later, it was the turn of Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma who etched his name in the record books as the 12th Indian bowler to pick up 100 wickets in Asia. Sharma, who was back in the team after his wedding, replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The 28-year old has become only the 4th Indian fast bowler to reach the landmark after Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan in a list dominated by spinners. The list is headed by current Indian head coach and former leg-spinner Anil Kumble who has a mammoth number of 419 wickets from 82 Tests. Harbhajan Singh, easily the best Indian off-spinner of the modern era, stands at a distant second.

At number three is Kapil Dev, the greatest all-rounder Indian has ever had, with 279 wickets from 86 matches. Following him is the best emerging off-spinner – Ravichandran Ashwin – whose success as a spinner has been a cause of envy for many spinners around the world. India’s best bowler at the moment is on a record-breaking spree and easily the best contender to overtake Harbhajan as the most successful off-spinner of the country in future.

In just 31 matches, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner has picked up 206 wickets at an astounding average of 20.54 and scarcely believable strike-rate of 43.8. In sharp contrast, his outside Asia figures read – 41 scalps from 13 matches at an average of 42.73 and strike-rate of 80.2. Zaheer Khan, the evergreen left armer who enjoyed success in all parts of the world, occupies the fifth spot with 164 wickets in 54 Tests.

The last five positions in the top ten is taken by some other legendary names Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (150 wickets in 35 matches), Bishan Singh Bedi (143 wickets in 33 matches), Javagal Srinath (119 wickets in 36 matches), Vinoo Mankad (115 wickets in 28 matches) and Pragyan Ojha (113 wickets in 24 matches). Leading Ishant at the 11th spot is the iconic leg spinner Subash Gupte 105 wickets in 26 matches.

Here is the list of Indian bowlers who have picked 100 Test wickets in Asia:

All stats updated till 16th December 2016*.