Ravichandran Ashwin shares pictures with Hashim Amla, Alec Stewart after short Surrey stint
Following his short stint with the county Surrey, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took to his social media account to post pictures with former international cricketers Hashim Amla and Alec Stewart.
Ashwin was sensational with figures of 6 for 27 for Surrey in the second innings against Somerset on Day 4 of the contest at The Oval. The Indian spinner’s brilliance rolled over Somerset for 69 in 29.1 overs. The four-day game ended in a draw after Surrey finished their second innings on 106 for 4 in a chase of 259.
After the match, Ashwin took to his official Instagram handle and uploaded pictures while posing with Amla and Stewart. Sharing the images, Ashwin wrote:
“My time with @surreycricke was short but sweet. Loved interacting with the great man @hashamla . #legend.”
Amla scored an unbeaten 37 off 278 balls in Surrey’s hard-fought draw against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl in Southampton last week.
Former England captain Stewart is Surrey's Director of Cricket, and is said to have played a key role in getting Ashwin as a replacement for New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson, who suffered an injury earlier this month.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s six-for has Somerset in a spin
Ashwin claimed six wickets in 15 overs for Surrey on Wednesday as Somerset batsmen struggled to read his variations. The 34-year-old began by having opener Steven Davies caught behind for 7. Tom Lammonby fell for 3, completely mistiming his reverse sweep.
Ashwin next trapped Somerset skipper James Hildreth (14) lbw. The batter missed a delivery while playing on the back foot and was caught in front of the stumps. George Bartlett was bowled for 12 with one that spun back in sharply as Bartlett decided to leave the ball.
The Indian off-spinner completed a well-deserved five-for by dismissing Roelof van der Merwe lbw for 7. Ashwin had six in the innings when he bowled Ben Green for 3. The veteran cricketer had only claimed one wicket in Somerset’s first innings in 43 overs, giving away 99 runs.
Ashwin is in England as part of India’s Test team. He was in the playing XI that went down to New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in Southampton. He will be seen in action when India take on England in a five-match Test series, starting August 4 in Nottingham.