Indian spin wizard R Ashwin equals Kapil Dev's record of 23 five-wicket hauls in Tests

Indian ace-off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been casting a web around visiting sides touring India over the past few years.

He has undoubtedly been India's strike weapon with the ball, around whom the Indian team has been a fortress at home for some time now.

Ashwin has mesmerized the best of batting line-ups and wreaked havoc in the minds of the best batsmen in the game with his subtle variations in spin.

Ashwin bagged yet another five wicket haul in his career when he took 6 wickets against the English in the fourth Test of the ongoing Ind-England series being played at Mumbai on Friday.

Ashwin has 23 career five-wicket hauls to his credit and is now tied third with India's all-rounding great Kapil Dev for the most five-wicket hauls by an Indian in Test cricket.

He is in striking distance of another great off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who is placed second on the list with 25 five wicket hauls.

Ashwin has already bagged an astounding 21 wickets in the series against the English and looks good to get many more.

Ashwin, who is the world No.1 Test bowler and the No.1 all-rounder, has been in terrific form this year. In 11 matches, he has picked 64 wickets, including seven five-wicket hauls. 

Ashwin, who is the quickest Indian and second-fastest in the world to reach the 200-wicket mark in Tests, became the third Indian to take more than 50 wickets and score in excess of 500 runs in Tests in a calendar year.

To highlight Ashwin’s meteoric rise, he has picked up seven five-fors in 2016 and 14 in the last two years. Another name to feature with 14 five fors in a two year period is that of Muttiah Muralitharan.

With Ashwin and Jadeja forming a potent spin pair on home conditions, the Indian team looks promising to continue its unbeaten streak at home.

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