Ashwin bowled Theunis de Bruyn to become joint-fastest to 350 Test wickets with Sri Lankan legend Muralitharan on Day 5 of the first Test at Vizag. It took 66 Tests for Ashwin to reach 350 wickets in longest format of the game.
After spending 10 months outside the team, offie Ashwin finished with seven wickets as South Africa's innings ended on 431 on Day 4 with India having a lead of 71 runs.
One of world's top-ranked spin bowlers in Test cricket, Ashwin has been 'in and out' of the Indian cricket team in past few years. He had admitted that there was a point when he stopped watching cricket altogether. "For starters I have two kids who don't sleep all that well in the night," he joked.
"My life has been all about cricket for the last 23-24 years, just played the game with that much passion. Just felt that my family and friends deserved a little more of my time so tried to spend some time away from the game and develop a few other interests. I found that whenever I stepped back onto the park it was a much happier time for me."