England’s star leg-spinner Adil Rashid reached a significant milestone in his career, becoming only the seventh English bowler to claim 400 international wickets across all formats. The achievement came during his stellar four-wicket haul in the third ODI against India on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Rashid delivered a masterclass in leg-spin bowling, finishing with figures of 4/64 in 10 overs. His performance, marked by clever variations in pace and flight, troubled India’s batters and further solidified his reputation as one of England’s finest white-ball bowlers. With this spell, Rashid’s international tally now stands at 403 wickets in 289 matches, with an average of 31.00 and a strike rate of 34.17.
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By reaching the 400-wicket mark, Rashid joins an elite list of England bowlers, trailing only some of the greatest names in English cricket history:
- James Anderson (991 wickets)
- Stuart Broad (847 wickets)
- Ian Botham (528 wickets)
- Darren Gough (466 wickets)
- Graeme Swann (410 wickets)
- Robert Willis (403 wickets)
Rashid’s milestone moment came when he dismissed Indian batting icon Virat Kohli (52). Bowling a beautifully flighted delivery with subtle drift, Rashid enticed Kohli into a forward defense, only for the ball to take the edge and land safely in wicketkeeper Phil Salt’s gloves. This was his 400th international wicket, marking a historic moment in his career.
He continued his dominance by removing Shubman Gill (112) soon after the Indian batter reached his century. Gill, attempting a sweep shot, misjudged the flight, and the ball sneaked under his bat to crash into the middle and leg stumps.
Rashid wasn’t done yet, as he then dismissed Shreyas Iyer (78), forcing another edge that was smartly taken behind the stumps by Salt. His final wicket of the day came when he clean-bowled Hardik Pandya (17) with a delivery reminiscent of Shane Warne’s magic—beating Pandya’s outside edge before rattling the middle and off stumps.
Reflecting on his impressive performance, Rashid explained how pace variations played a crucial role in his success.
“Lots of practice, but also about identifying what you are as a leg-spinner. Once you get the ball in the right area with revs and drift in, it makes it difficult. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Rashid said after the innings.
Despite Rashid’s brilliance with the ball, England struggled in the match. India posted 356 runs, with key contributions from Gill (112), Kohli (52), and Iyer (78). In response, England’s batting faltered, and they were bowled out for 214 in 34.2 overs, handing India a 142-run victory and a 3-0 series sweep.
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