India’s spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday reached the milestone of 100 Test matches, with his appearance in the fifth and final game against England in Dharamshala. He was felicitated by India’s head coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the game for achieveing the feat. Ashwin, who is one of the most successful all-rounders of the modern era, credited the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, besides thanking his family on playing playing the 100th Test of his career.
“I mean, I’ve been lucky and blessed to have Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara at slip and leg slip. I had Virat Kohli at short midwicket, Pujara at leg slip, Ajinkya at slip forever. That is impenetrable. If I have to thank someone beyond my family, it’s those three. Along with Rohit (Sharma) taking some catches at short leg. Rohit has filled in for Ajinkya at slip,” Ashwin told The Cricket Monthly.
Before the match on the green fields of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) amid the beautiful and snowy mountains, Ashwin received a special cap meant to symbolise his 100th Test appearance, a privilege that only 13 Indians could get before him.
Now, he has joined the elite company of Sachin Tendulkar (200 Tests), Rahul Dravid (163 Tests), VVS Laxman (134 Tests), Anil Kumble (132 Tests), Kapil Dev (131 Tests), Sunil Gavaskar (125 Tests), Dilip Vengesarkar (116 Tests), Saurav Ganguly and Virat Kohli (113 Tests), Ishant Sharma (105 Tests), Cheteshwar Pujara, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag (103 Tests) in the elite company of Indian players having made a century of matches in white coloured clothing.
Present with Ashwin during the felicitation ceremony was his wife Prithi and his children, who were also really happy to see the Indian legend receive this special honour of playing a century of Tests for the Asian giants.
Following this, a special guard of honour was also given to Ashwin by his teammates as they took to the field for the match.
(With ANI Inputs)
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