Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 8 (ANI): Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praised on Ishant Sharma after the bowler on Monday became the third Indian pacer to take 300 wickets in the longest format of the game.

Ishant scalped the wicket of Dan Lawrence on the fourth day of the ongoing first Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and with this, he registered his 300th wicket.

Ashwin referring to Ishant as one of the most hard-working cricketers said the glorious milestone is not a joke considering the Indian pacer has to go through a fair share of injuries during the career.

“Ishant is one of the most hard-working cricketers I have seen now. He has worked extremely hard. Being that tall itself requires a lot of things to be managed in a career of 14 years if I am not wrong with the numbers,” said Ashwin in a virtual press conference on Monday.

“From the Ishant that went to Australia and got Ricky Ponting out and then he has gone through many other tours, he has his fair share of injuries. So for a fast bowler to play close to 100 Tests in India is not a joke. It’s a fantastic achievement,” he added.

The right-arm off-spinner now wants Ishant to go after the 400 or 500 wicket feat in the longest format of the game.

“He is the third Indian fast bowler to get there the only one who is closer to him Javagal Srinath who is a match referee in this game. I really wish to see him get 400 and probably 500 wickets in Test,” said Ashwin.

The other two pacers to have taken 300 Test wickets are Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. Overall, Ishant is the sixth Indian bowler to take 300 Test wickets. Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the other five bowlers who have taken 300 wickets in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, India need 381 more runs on the final day to win the first Test against England. At stumps on day four, India’s score read 39/1, with Shubman Gill (15) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12) on the field. Ashwin picked six wickets, restricting England to a very low total in the second innings and with this, a target of 420 runs was set for the hosts. (ANI)