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As Team India prepares to take on Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai's, all eyes will be on the local boy and spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, who has some milestones to chase and some really fine memories at his homeground of MA Chidambram Stadium.
The two-match series between India and Bangladesh will kick off on September 19 in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Meanwhile, the second long-format game will begin on September 27 in Kanpur. In his first Test assignment, head coach Gautam Gambhir will be keen on securing a series win. Ashwin has a fine record at the stadium in Tests. In four Tests at the venue, Ashwin has taken 30 wickets at an average of 23.60, with the best figures of 7/103. He has four five-wicket hauls and a ten-wicket haul at the venue. With the bat, he has scored 229 runs in six innings at an average of 38.16, with a century and half-century to his name. His best score here is 106. His best performances at the venue include, a match-winning seven-wicket haul in the first innings (and fifer in second innings as well, taking the match total to 12 wickets) against Australia back in 2013 and a superb all-round performance against England in 2021. After enduring a tough loss in the first Test thanks to a Joe Root double ton, it was Ashwin's five wicket haul in the first innings, a well-made fifth Test century that helped India script a much-needed comeback win. Ashwin was given the Player of the Match award for his century and eight wickets in the match. Also, he would be aiming to add to his tally of 744 international wickets. The veteran spinner has a milestone of 750 international wickets worth chasing in this short two-match affair. Currently in 281 international matches, Ashwin has taken 744 wickets at an average of 25.68, with best figures of 7/59. He has taken a total of 36 five wicket hauls and eight ten-wicket hauls in his international career. The veteran stands just six wickets away from the milestone and 21 wickets in total to overcome West Indies' icon Courtney Walsh (746 wickets), Sri Lankan pace legend Chaminda Vaas (761 wickets) and New Zealand's Tim Southee (765 wickets) to enter top 10 wicket-takers in international cricket. Also, coming to just Tests, Ashwin would like to add some spice to his rivalry with Australian spinner Nathan Lyon before they battle it out in Border-Gavaskar Trophy later in November. Currently, Ashwin has 516 Test scalps, while Lyon has 530 wickets. 15 more wickets would help him surpass Lyon and become seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. For Rohit Sharma's side, this series against Bangladesh will be followed by New Zealand's tour of India for three Tests starting from October 16, and then the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia from November 22. India's squad for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal. (ANI)
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