Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon brace up for 'battle royale' in Australia

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Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon (Agency Photos)

NEW DELHI: More than 100 Tests and over 500 wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin has fought hard to deliver and drive himself past those milestones to sit among India’s leading bowlers. And the veteran off-spinner is far from done, despite being 38 and in the twilight of his career.
Ashwin is once again proving to be the thoroughbred to beat in the home straight of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC).India’s last stretch of 10 Tests to conclude this WTC cycle began with the two-match home series against Bangladesh, which Ashwin bossed with 11 wickets, including a six-wicket spell.
In two WTC cycles since the tournament’s inception by the International Cricket Council in 2019, Ashwin has topped the bowling charts once (2019-21) and has pushed Pat Cummins to second place in the current cycle (2023-25) with his haul of wickets against Bangladesh.
Interestingly, the bowler on top of the 2021-23 WTC wicket-taker’s list was Ashwin’s contemporary off-spinning legend, Australia‘s Nathan Lyon. The duo, in fact, are the only two spinners to feature among the top five wicket-takers in two of the three WTC cycles.

The two greats of the modern era will face off in the five-Test series Down Under for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. But before that, Ashwin has business to do with New Zealand at home in three Tests beginning on Wednesday.
The collective numbers from the three WTC cycles also paint an interesting picture, with Lyon, Ashwin and Cummins occupying the top three spots, respectively. However, where Ashwin is ahead of everyone else is in the number of five-wicket hauls (11), average (20.36) and strike rate (44.2).
Top wicket-takers in WTC (2019-2024)

Bowler	For	Tests	Wkts	Avg	Best	5WI	10WM	SR	ER
Nathan Lyon	AUS	43	187	26.70	8/64	10	3	58.0	2.75
Ravichandran Ashwin	IND	37	185	20.36	7/71	11	1	44.2	2.76
Pat Cummins	AUS	42	175	22.81	6/91	8	1	46.9	2.91
Mitchell Starc	AUS	38	147	27.08	6/66	3	0	46.8	3.46
Stuart Broad	ENG	33	134	24.09	6/31	3	1	47.5	3.04

Ashwin is just three wickets away from surpassing Lyon’s 187 wickets in WTC, and the three Tests against the Kiwis on spinning home tracks offer him a chance to extend the gap with Lyon by some distance before heading to Australia.
Here’s the cycle-wise progression of Ashwin since the start of WTC in 2019.
Top wicket-takers in WTC 2019-2021

Bowler	For	Tests	Wkts	Avg	Best	5WI	10WM	SR	ER
Ravichandran Ashwin	IND	14	71	20.33	7/145	4	0	46.4	2.62
Pat Cummins	AUS	14	70	21.02	5/28	1	0	47.6	2.64
Stuart Broad	ENG	17	69	20.08	6/31	2	1	43.4	2.77
Tim Southee	NZ	11	56	20.82	5/32	3	0	46.2	2.70
Nathan Lyon	AUS	14	56	31.37	6/49	4	1	67.5	2.78

Top wicket-takers in WTC 2021-2023

Bowler	For	Tests	Wkts	Avg	Best	5WI	10WM	SR	ER
Nathan Lyon	AUS	20	88	26.12	8/64	5	1	60.6	2.58
Kagiso Rabada	SA	13	67	21.05	6/50	3	0	34.8	3.63
Ravichandran Ashwin	IND	13	61	19.67	6/91	2	0	47.5	2.48
James Anderson	ENG	15	58	20.37	5/60	2	0	53.7	2.27
Pat Cummins	AUS	16	57	22.15	5/38	3	0	47.5	2.79

Top wicket-takers in the WTC 2023-2025 (in progress)

Bowler	For	Tests	Wkts	Avg	Best	5WI	10WM	SR	ER
Ravichandran Ashwin	IND	10	53	21.18	7/71	5	1	37.3	3.40
Josh Hazlewood	AUS	11	51	20.45	5/31	3	0	37.5	3.26
Pat Cummins	AUS	12	48	26.20	6/91	4	1	45.2	3.47
Mitchell Starc	AUS	11	48	28.37	5/78	1	0	40.5	4.20
Chris Woakes	ENG	10	45	20.91	5/62	1	0	42.2	2.96

Ashwin is also on the verge of overtaking Lyon in career Test wickets. In 129 Tests, Lyon has taken 530 wickets, while the Indian legend’s numbers currently stand at 527 wickets in 102 Tests.
Here’s the comparison:

Bowler	For	Tests	Wkts	Avg	Best	5WI	10WM	SR	ER
Ravichandran Ashwin	IND	102	527	23.65	7/59	37	8	50.3	2.81
Nathan Lyon	AUS	129	530	30.28	8/50	24	5	61.8	3.93