R Ashwin bags 25th 5-wicket haul at home to equal Anil Kumble's record

R Ashwin picked up his 31st 5-wicket haul to leave Australia's innings in tatters after India took a 223-run lead on day three of the Nagpur Test. On Thursday, Ashwin became the fastest Indian to take 450 Test wickets.

R Ashwin picked his first 5-wicket haul in 10 Test matches to equal Anil Kumble's record of 5 wickets in India. While Kumble took 25 5-wicket hauls in his career from 1990 to 2018, R Ashwin equaled the record after playing Test cricket for just over 11 years. He made his debut against West Indies in 2011.

On Saturday, R Ashwin first dismissed Usman Khawaja before getting David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey to complete his 31st 5-wicket haul in Test cricket and 25th 5-wicket haul at home. Ashwin equaled Anil Kumble's record 5-wicket haul in India as Australia faced certain defeat in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

R Ashwin needed just 10 overs to grab his 5-wicket haul on a pitch that began to offer a sharp turn. However, it was still far from a bad pitch after the Indians showed that scoring is not an impossible task on the surface. R Ashwin is India's second highest wicket-taker in Tests. Taking his 4th wicket on Saturday, Ashwin surpassed Nathan Lyon (95) and Harbhajan Singh (95) to move to No. 2 on the list for most wickets in India-Australia Tests behind Anil Kumble (111).