New Delhi [India] March 29 (ANI): Ravichandran Ashwin, the former Indian spinner, has surpassed Sunil Narine to become the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Ashwin achieved this milestone after dismissing Devdutt Padikkal during the clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday, moving ahead of Narine, who has 181 wickets in the IPL.

Ashwin now has 182 wickets in 214 matches, with an average of 29.79 and an economy of 7.13. He played a vital role in CSK's championship victories in 2010 and 2011. The Tamil Nadu spinner made his return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025 after ten years, reuniting with the franchise for Rs. 9.75 Crore. Ashwin's extensive experience will be essential for CSK, especially when combined with his longtime spin collaborator, Ravindra Jadeja.

Ashwin achieved this feat in the eighth match of the ongoing IPL season, where Chennai Super Kings were taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Despite being hit for two fours and a six by Phil Salt in the second over, Ashwin made a significant impact by taking the wicket of Padikkal.

After CSK won the toss and opted to field first, Phil Salt put RCB to a fine start, striking Ravichandran Ashwin for two fours and a six in the second over. On the other end, Virat Kohli was trying to connect against pacers and spinners alike but struggled to do so.

A catch from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad on a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery ended Padikkal's brief cameo of 27 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes. Noor (3/36) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Also, Pathirana got two wickets and Ashwin and Khaleel got one wicket each.

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Yash Dayal. (ANI)