R Ashwin Breaks Kapil Dev's Record of Most Wickets in Home Season

Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday broke pace great Kapil Dev's 37-year-old record of picking the maximum number wickets in a home season by an Indian bowler. The off-spinner clinched the record on the morning of the second day of the first cricket Test against Australia at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Ashwin went past Kapil's earlier mark of 63 wickets in 13 Tests created way back in the 1979-80 season at the beginning of the all-rounder's career.

Ashwin, the quickest to 250 wickets in Test matches, dismissed overnight batsman Mitchell Starc with the fifth ball of the first over of the morning to end the visitors' first innings at 260 and take his tally of wickets in the current home season to 64 in 10 Test matches.

R Ashwin now 64 Test wickets this Indian season - the most by any bowler in India
Kapil Dev 63 in 1979/80#IndvAus

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 24, 2017

Ashwin had grabbed 61 wickets in 10 Tests in the 2012-13 home season, when he first served notice of his potential at the international level.

This season the off-spinner has taken 27 wickets in three Test matches against New Zealand, 28 in five against England and six in one against Bangladesh.

You just can't stop @ashwinravi99. Can you? #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/1wDAdb9889

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2017

His first innings figures of three for 63 in 34.5 overs took the 30-year-old's career tally of wickets to 257 from 46 games.

(With PTI inputs)