Ashwin: Good to have the record of 250 wickets out of the way

Hyderabad: Having become the quickest to reach 250 wickets in Test cricket, India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday said it was “good to have the record out of the way”.

Playing in his 45th Test match, Ashwin achieved the feat when he dismissed Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim in the first session of the fourth and penultimate day of the one-off Test, surpassing Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee, who had reached the milestone in 48 matches.

“Good to have the record out of the way,” he said after the end of day’s play.

“Today was one of those days when I started enjoying my spell right from the start. It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow. The wicket is not giving too much help for the spinners, we have to be very very patient in the morning session,” Ashwin said.

“It was a delight to bowl in the second innings. I was a little rusty in the first innings, got into a better rhythm in the second innings straightaway, bowling with the new ball.”

He is the sixth Indian bowler after current coach Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), Zaheer Khan (311), Bishan Singh Bedi (266) to take 250 Test wickets.