IND v AUS 2020: Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the first Indian bowler to dismiss Steve Smith for single digits in Tests Down Under
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tilted the game in his side's favour by picking up Steve Smith's wicket early in Adelaide. Ashwin got the better of Smith in his first over of the pink-ball Test match.
With this dismissal, Ravichandran Ashwin became the first Indian bowler to dismiss Steve Smith for single digits in a Test match played Down Under. Also, this was Smith's lowest score in Tests against the Indian cricket team.
Steve came out to bat after Joe Burns' dismissal in the 17th over. The right-handed batsman struggled to get going as he played 27 dot balls on the trot after scoring his first run.
Virat Kohli introduced Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack to bowl the 27th over of the Australian innings. Marnus Labuschagne took three runs off the first three deliveries as his partner got to face the fourth ball.
Smith drove the fourth delivery past Ashwin for no runs. Subsequently, he played a defensive shot towards the leg-side on the fifth ball.
The Indian off-spinner then bowled a length ball on off-stump. Steve tried to defend it again. Unfortunately for him, that delivery got the bat's outside edge and landed in Ajinkya Rahane's hands at first slip.
Ravichandran Ashwin joins Kumar, Jadeja in an elite club
Steve Smith has achieved incredible success against the Indian cricket team. The Aussie had 1429 runs in 20 innings versus India heading into the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja have dismissed him for single digits before. Kumar rattled his stumps for five runs in 2013 at the PCA Stadium. Four years later, Ravindra Jadeja sent him back to the pavilion after scoring eight runs in Bengaluru.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin became the first Indian bowler to achieve this feat in Australia.