R Ashwin becomes fifth Indian cricketer to achieve double of 700 wickets and 5000 runs in first-class cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu-born all-rounder, added another accolade to his long list of achievements on Saturday as he completed the double of 5000 runs and 700 wickets in first-class cricket. Ashwin achieved this feat during the second Test against Australia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

This makes Ashwin only the fifth cricketer in India to complete the double of 5000 runs and 700 wickets in first-class cricket. The other four players who have achieved this milestone are Vinoo Mankad, Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Kapil Dev, and Anil Kumble.

Ashwin reached the 700-wicket mark during Australia's innings in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. He achieved the feat by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne for 18 in his ninth over.

Since his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies in Delhi, Ashwin has made a name for himself as an accomplished player. He was named player of the match for his bowling performance (3/81 & 6/47) in that debut match as India won by five wickets.

Ashwin also holds the record for the second-most player of the series awards (9) in Tests, trailing only Muralidaran (11). Currently, Ashwin is ranked second in the ICC Test bowlers and all-rounder rankings, respectively.

In first-class cricket, England's Wilfred Rhodes holds the record for the highest wicket-taker with 4204 wickets in a domestic career spanning over 32 years.

During the second Test against Australia in New Delhi, Ashwin and Axar Patel brought India back into the game after being reduced to 139/7 on Day 2. Axar scored a half-century before getting out for 74, while Ashwin was dismissed for 37, with the pair adding 114 runs for the eighth wicket.