IND vs NZ: R Ashwin takes 50 Test wickets for 4th time in calendar year; overtakes Kumble

Ravichandran Ashwin has been in red hot form with the ball having taken seven wickets in India's second Test match against New Zealand. He took four in the first innings and has taken three in the second so far as India look on the road to victory. However, with his third wicket of the innings, R Ashwin has now taken 50 wickets this year, making it the fourth time he has taken 50 wickets in a calendar year and in doing so, he has moved past Anil Kumble who marked the feat thrice in his career.

IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Day 2 and 3 Recap

As Day 2 of the ongoing second Test match comes to an end, India managed to stop New Zealand at 62, and the former had the option to ask for a follow on, however, opted to bat their second innings. The Men In Blue had to shuffle things a little as replacing Shubman Gill who picked up an injury, they sent Cheteshwar Pujara to open with Mayank Agarwal and the duo have done exceeding well as they had taken India to 69 for no loss at the end of day two. Mayank concluded the day with 38 runs off 75 balls and Pujara with 29 runs off 51 balls.

Going into Day 3, the openers performed well as they propelled India to 107 before Mayank departed having scored 62 runs off 108 balls. Soon after that, Pujara also walked back to the pavilion missing out on his half-century by just three runs. Shubman Gill played well, scoring 47 runs off 75 balls and Virat Kohli started well but got out for 36 runs off 84 balls. Axar Patel came in and went berserk as he scored 41 runs off 26 balls to give India a 540 runs lead as they declared and decided to hunt New Zealand's batting lineup. Once again it was Ajaz Patel taking the wickets, with the Mumbai-born spinner taking four wickets at an economy of 4.08.

Ravichandran Ashwin struck early on as opener Tom Latham was sent packing in the fourth over having scored just six runs in 15 balls and with New Zealand at 13 for one, the umpire had to stop play as the spider cam disrupted the proceedings. When they returned, Ashwin was not done as he took the wickets of Will Young and Ross Taylor to all but guarantee a win for India in their second Test against New Zealand.

Image: BCCI