I am Very Lucky in Terms of Where I Have Reached in my Career: Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin picked only one wicket on the fifth and final day of the first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, but that was enough for the Tamil Nadu tweaker to became the joint fastest to take 350 wickets, matching Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan‘s feat in his 66th Test.

Ashwin castled Theunis de Bruyn to reach the milestone on Sunday with India sealing a convincing 203-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

“Obviously, these things happen over a period of time, we can’t plan for any of these things. I am very lucky in terms of where I got in my career, in terms of racing up in all these records. But it is important to stick to the process and basics, keep it as simple as possible,” Ashwin told BCCI.tv after the match.

The 33-year-old took just five balls to provide India the breakthrough in the morning session which triggered a flurry of wickets. The tourists were dismissed for 191 with Mohammed Shami (5/35) and Ravindra Jadeja (4/87) doing most of the damage.

Talking about his preparation, Ashwin said: “I want to keep it as straight forward and simple as possible. I want to be as prepared as possible, trying to tick all the boxes ahead of a game, trying to be in the best possible mental and physical space getting into a match.

“All these are things that I play inside my head and be as prepared as possible getting into a game,” he explained.