'Surpassing Kapil Dev is a massive achievement' - Twitter congratulates Ravi Ashwin for becoming India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has added another feather to his already-illustrious hat as he became India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test matches. During Day 3 of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Ashwin went past Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 scalps in the format with the wicket of left-handed batter Charith Asalanka. The 35-year-old produced a ripper as Asalanka edged the ball and former Indian skipper Virat Kohli took a fine catch at slips.

In the list of India’s leading wicket-takers in the purest format, Ashwin is now only behind former leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who ended his career with 619 Test scalps to his name. Notably, the Tamil Nadu-born bowler has also entered the list of top-10 highest wicket-takers in Test cricket. Alongside Kapil, Ashwin piped Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath to get the ninth place in the elite list.

Congratulatory messages pouring in for Ravi Ashwin

Needless to mentioned, Twitter went wild to celebrate Ashwin’s feat as congratulatory wishes poured in from different corners. Notably, Kapil took 434 Test wickets in 131 Test matches. However, Ashwin went past his tally in just his 85th Test match. He has truly been a nemesis for batters at least in the longest format of the game.

Making his Test debut in 2011, Ashwin burst onto the scenes with his spectacular performances and didn’t take long in cementing his place in the team. He even piped his senior pro Harbhajan Singh to emerge as India’s first-choice spinner. Not to forget, Ashwin is also a handy batter lower down the order and has five Test hundreds to his name.

He even scored a vital 61 in the ongoing game, tormenting Sri Lanka even further. Meanwhile, India’s triumph in the Mohali Test is a mere formality as the visitors were bundled out for 174 after the home team declared at 574/8. Following on, Sri Lanka lost their eight wickets inside 160 runs and they set to suffer a massive defeat.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitter reacted to Ravi Ashwin’s latest achievements: