India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the joint-fastest to take 350 wickets, matching Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan's feat in his 66th Test.
Ashwin, who had taken his 27th five-wicket haul in the first innings of the opening Test against South Africa, castled Theunis de Bruyn with one that turned back sharply from wide outside the off-stump for his milestone wicket on day five here.
The 33-year-old took just five balls to provide India with the breakthrough in the morning session with South African chasing an improbable target of 395 runs.
The wily off-spinner has answered his critics with a stellar show in the first Test of the home season.
Ashwin, who played his first international game since December 2018, warmed the bench in the two-Test series in the West Indies in August-September with Ravindra Jadeja being the preferred choice.
Ahead of the first Test, skipper Virat Kohli had said that Ashwin remains India's go-to spinner in home conditions.
Published 06 October 2019, 07:08 IST