India vs England: Ishant Sharma reaches Mt. 300

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Updated: February 8, 2021
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Ishant Sharma is the sixth Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets.

Ishant Sharma on Monday became the third Indian pacer to bag 300 Test wickets, after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. Sharma, 32, reached the milestone when he dismissed England batsman Dan Lawrence in the 16th over of England’s second innings in the Chennai Test.

Sharma is now the sixth Indian bowler to reach the landmark in red-ball cricket. He is also the slowest to 300 wickets.

Former India captain and leg-spinner Anil Kumble is on top of the charts with 619 wickets. Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), R Ashwin (382), Zaheer Khan (311), and Ishant (300*) follow suit. Ashwin was the fastest to get there, taking only 54 matches, followed by Kumble (66), Harbhajan (72), Kapil (83), and Zaheer (89)

He has 11 five-wicket hauls and picked up 10 wickets in a match once. The lanky pacer’s spell to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting during his teenage years is still discussed in Indian cricketing circles.

Ishant, who made his Test debut back in 2007 against Bangladesh, missed the four-match Test series against Australia due to a side strain and came back for the challenge against England.

The ICC also lauded the seasoned fast bowler’s achievement, coming after more than 13 years of toil.

“Ishant Sharma becomes the third India pacer after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to reach the 300-wicket mark in Tests. What an achievement!” the game’s global governing body tweeted.

Meanwhile, Indian bowlers ran through the England top half but the visitors still extended their overall lead to a formidable 360 runs on the fourth day of the opening Test on Monday.

England were 119/5 at tea after bowling out the hosts for 337 for a massive first-innings lead of 241 runs.