Mumbai: Ace Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the second spinner to play 200 games in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) history. He reached the 200th IPL match landmark when he stepped onto the field for the match between RR and five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.
Ashwin's compatriot Ravindra Jadeja (229), who currently represents Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was the first spinner to play 200 IPL matches. With this, he has become the overall 10th player to achieve this remarkable milestone after legendary MS Dhoni (253), Dinesh Karthik (245), Rohit Sharma (245), Virat Kohli (240), Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan (220), Suresh Raina (205), Robin Uthappa (205), and Ambati Rayudu (204).
Notably, no overseas player has breached this landmark so far and the player to feature in most IPL games is former Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard with 189 matches. Interestingly, he has played all these matches for MI only which makes him the second player with the most matches for a single franchise after Virat Kohli (240 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru).
The 37-year-old has represented CSK, Delhi Capitals (DC), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rising Pune Super Giants (RPS) and RR so far in his IPL career. Before this match, the right-arm off-spinner had picked 172 wickets, fourth most in the tournament, in 199 games at an average of 28.87, leaking runs at an economy of 7.03.
Ashwin, who hails from Chennai, didn't have a perfect game with the ball as failed to pick a wicket and conceded 30 runs in the three overs he bowled. However, he showcased his prowess with the bat, coming out to bat number five when the team was struggling at 36/3 after 7.2 overs and then scored a quickfire 29 off 19 under pressure with the help of three massive sixes to consolidate RR's innings which eventually helped the hosts beat DC by 12 runs.
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