New Delhi, October 24 : Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has surpassed Australian great Nathan Lyon to become the highest wicket-taker in the history of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
Ashwin achieved this milestone during the second Test against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. In the first innings, Ashwin delivered an impressive spell, taking three wickets for 48 runs in 19 overs with an economy rate of 2.50.
Since the league format of the tournament began in 2019, Ashwin has played 39 matches and claimed 189 wickets at an average of 20.71, with his best bowling figures being 7/71. Throughout the competition, he has taken four wickets in an innings nine times and five wickets in an innings on 11 occasions.
In the 2019-21 and 2021-23 WTC cycles, Ashwin led the wicket-takers with 71 wickets in 14 matches, while taking 61 wickets in 13 matches in the next cycle. Lyon was the top wicket-taker overall in that period with 88 wickets in 20 matches.
In the ongoing 2023-25 WTC cycle, Ashwin has continued to dominate, topping the charts with 57 wickets in 12 matches so far. Lyon, on the other hand, has taken 187 wickets in 43 matches at an average of 26.70, with his best bowling figures being 8/64.
Ashwin also moved past Lyon (530 wickets in 129 matches) in the all-time Test cricket wicket-takers list, becoming the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the format. Ashwin has now taken 531 wickets in 104 matches at an average of 23.75, with a best bowling performance of 7/59. He has taken four wickets in an innings 25 times and five wickets on 37 occasions during his illustrious career.
