Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates the wicket of England’s Ben Foakes on Day 3 of the 5th Test match, at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, in Dharamsala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
India’s Test series triumph over England lived up to the expectations as records tumbled even in the fifth game with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin and James Anderson etching their names in the history books at the scenic HPCA Stadium.
The five-match series between two cricketing giants played home to 102 sixes to make the record for the most maximums struck in a Test series.
Before this series, Ashes 2023 (Australia vs England) saw a total of 74 sixes smashed all around the different venues with Australia emerging triumphant to retain the series.
Throughout the series, India’s promising talent lived up to the expectations and delivered to fill in the holes left by the absence of some senior players like Virat Kohli and many more.
Among such players, 22-year-old, Yashasvi Jaiswal finished the series with an impressive tally of 712 runs to his name which included remarkable 26 sixes.
The southpaw batter became just the second batter to enter the 700-run club in a series and joined the elite company of ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar who has achieved the feat twice in his decorated career.
In the final game, Jaiswal struck 57 and became the second-fastest Indian cricketer to reach 1000 runs in Test format and he took just 16 innings to achieve the feat.
Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli is the only player ahead of Jaiswal who achieved the feat in just 14 innings.
Coming to the bowlers, Ashwin who featured in his 100th Test ended the match with a nine-wicket haul to his name which included a five-for in the second innings. With his scintillating performance, Ashwin ended the series with the most number of wickets – 26.
Ashwin went past iconic spinner Anil Kumble to become the Indian bowler with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket – 36. The 37-year-old is the first player to bag a five-wicket haul in his debut as well as in his 100th Test.
The crafty off-spinner is the fourth bowler to claim a five-for in his 100th Test. Before him, the iconic spin trio of Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan achieved the feat.
England’s famed pacer James Anderson became the first speedster to claim 700 wickets in Test format after he claimed the wicket of Kuldeep Yadav early in Day 3.
Featuring as the only pacer in the top four wicket-takers in Test format, the 41-year-old is just eight wickets behind the legendary Shane Warne who has 708 wickets to his name.