Watch: Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Prithi Ashwin err in predicting Ravichandran Ashwin's 500th Test wicket

Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed his long-awaited 500th Test wicket during the third Test match against England. However, Ravi Shastri and Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife, Prithi Narayanan, got their predictions wrong on the spinner’s landmark milestone.

Ravichandran Ashwin reached the 500-wicket milestone during the ongoing match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. The 37-year-old bowler became only the second Indian cricketer to achieve this feat after the legendary Anil Kumble.

Ashwin became the ninth cricketer overall to reach the milestone. He also holds the record for being the fastest spin bowler to achieve 500 Test wickets. He accomplished this feat in his 97th Test match, second only to Australia’s Glenn McGrath (87) in terms of matches played.

Ravichandran Ashwin Dismisses Zak Crawley To Complete Milestone

Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced to the bowling attack in the 12th over of England’s first inning. The veteran off-spinner made an instant impact by dismissing Zak Crawley on his seventh delivery. He broke the partnership between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.

Opting to bowl around the wicket to the right-handed batter Crawley, Ashwin delivered a full-length ball targeting the leg-stump line. The English opening batter attempted a sweep shot but mishit it, resulting in a top-edge. Rajat Patidar successfully caught it at fine leg.

Straight Through With The Arm – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Dinesh Karthik, and Ashwin’s wife made predictions regarding Ashwin’s milestone achievement. Shastri specifically anticipated that Ashwin would dismiss the batter by trapping him in front of the stumps.

“He’s got him. Straight through with the arm, catches the pads, bang in front,” said Shastri.

Caught And Bowled – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar accurately predicted that Ashwin would dismiss Crawley, although he didn’t anticipate the mode of dismissal correctly.

“Zak Crawley. Caught and bowled,” said Gavaskar.

Middle Stump Going Just Like That – Prithvi Ashwin

Prithi expressed her wish for the Indian spin bowling spearhead to dismiss the batter by clean bowling him, hoping that the middle stump would be knocked over.

“I was actually manifesting it this morning. I want the batter to get clean bowled. The middle stump going just like that,” said Prithi.

Rajkot was bracing itself for R Ashwin’s Test wicket No. 5⃣0⃣0⃣

The Comms, the Journos, the TV Crew, & a very special member from the Ashwin fam got their predictor hat 🔛

Who got it right 🤔#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @ashwinravi99 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/tPuIvS51oR

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 16, 2024

The Tamil Nadu-born off-spinner commenced the five-Test series with 490 wickets. Ashwin claimed six wickets in the series opener in Hyderabad, which England won by 28 runs. He remained wicketless in the first innings of the subsequent Visakhapatnam Test and managed to secure three wickets in the second innings.

Ashwin also made a significant contribution with the bat in the ongoing Test match against England, forging a crucial 77-run partnership to bolster India’s total. However, he was dismissed for 37 runs after being caught by James Anderson off Rehan Ahmed’s delivery.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Also read: “It is destiny that he will get it here in my hometown” – Ravindra Jadeja on Ravichandran Ashwin’s 500th Test wicket