[Watch] India's Ravichandran Ashwin sends both England openers packing on Day 3 of his 100th Test
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been pretty vocal about how he loves bowling with the new ball and proved once again how effective he is with it on Day 3 of the ongoing Test against England in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwin dismissed England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to peg the visitors further back in the Test. The off-spinner got some grip off the surface and a world-class bowler like him knew exactly how to exploit it.
Duckett seemed keen to set the tone with the 'Bazball' approach as he danced down the track to try and thrash Ravichandran Ashwin through covers. However, he only yorked himself in the process and the ball hit the off-stump. The southpaw had to walk back almost having gifted his wicket to the hosts.
Here's a video of Duckett's dismissal:
Crawley has been England's best batter in the series but has often been troubled by Ashwin. The offie found some grip from over the wicket angle and Crawley tried to flick it behind square. However, he hit it straight into the hands of Sarfaraz Khan at leg slip and had to walk back without opening his account in the second innings.
Here's how Crawley was dismissed:
Ashwin has further strengthened his match-up against the two England openers, having dismissed Zak Crawley five times and Ben Duckett a staggering seven times in the longest format.
Ravichandran Ashwin pushed England into deeper trouble with Ollie Pope's scalp
England needed vice-captain Ollie Pope to stitch together a big partnership with star batter Joe Root to get the visitors out of a hole. However, Ravichandran Ashwin had another trick up his sleeve.
The off-spinner lured Pope into a sweep shot with a delivery that had a lot of sidespin on it. Pope had to fetch the delivery from outside off-stump as it didn't turn, but the extra bounce meant that he could only get a top edge. The ball flew toward the square leg region where Yashasvi Jaiswal completed a superb running catch.
In his 100th Test, Ashwin continues to prove why he is invaluable to the Indian Test team.