Ravichandran Ashwin on Williamson as 200th Test scalp

Omnisports

September 25, 2016 7:30 AM

AB De Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara and Kane Williamson are ranked among Ravichandran Ashwin's favourite 200 Test dismissals for India.

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Ravichandran Ashwin enjoyed removing Kane Williamson for his 200th scalp in the longest format as India closed in on victory in the first Test against New Zealand.

India added 218 runs to their overnight total of 159-1 on Sunday, declaring on 377-5 to leave the Black Caps requiring 434 from their second innings for victory.

Their hopes immediately took a severe blow with Ashwin removing Martin Guptill and Tom Latham in the fourth over and the off-spinner then claimed a landmark Test wicket with the removal of captain Kane Williamson.

Only Clarrie Grimmett of Australia has reached the tally in fewer Tests than Ashwin, who is making his 37th appearance, and he reflected on some of his favourite dismissals.

"Kane Williamson is not a bad 200th scalp. There are quite a few good wickets that I've had over a period of time," said Ashwin.

"AB de Villiers in Nagpur was very well set up. Kane Williamson in this Test match in the first innings, I thought was a very, very good ball. Kumar Sangakkara in Sri Lanka.

"These are some special memories that I'll always cherish in my cricketing career. I hope I can create more and more in the future."

The Black Caps had Ross Taylor run out as they ended the day on 93-4 and 341 runs adrift of victory, but bowling coach Shane Jurgensen insisted they will continue to battle on the final day in Kanpur.

He said: "We made some adjustments. I think like that last partnership towards the end [Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner], we've just got to keep fighting, and that's the way we play cricket.

"We have to fight to the end. There are still six wickets to go and if you get a good partnership going, and we saw that when India batted, you can score at a decent rate, and more importantly you can bat for time.

"That's our goal, to fight for as long as we can, have a good start in the morning and really try and fight as far as we can. From my experiences in this game tomorrow is a new day. We'll see what happens then."

Omnisports

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