[Watch] Ravichandran Ashwin shares video of playing darts as it rained in Southampton
Veteran Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared glimpses of the dart game he featured in with the support staff during a rain break in Southampton in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The WTC final between India and New Zealand was marred by rain as two full days of play were lost due to unplayable weather conditions. However, the Kiwis found enough time to sneak in an eight-wicket victory.
On Thursday, Ashwin shared a vlog on his official YouTube channel, in which he shared a clip from the dart competition featuring him, the team physio Nitin Patel, assistant physio Yogesh Parmar, and analyst Hari Prasad Mohan.
Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he was lagging at the start but ended up winning the darts competition. The video captures glimpses of fun moments from the indoor game even as it was gloomy outside.
Ashwin claimed four wickets in the WTC final apart from scoring 22 and 7 with the bat. Team India was bowled out for 217 and 170 in their two innings in Southampton as they couldn’t stand up to the Kiwi pace bowlers.
Not a single Indian batsman managed to score a half-century in the WTC final, with Ajinkya Rahane’s 49 in the first innings being the highest. Admitting the entire team was disappointed with the loss, Ravichandran Ashwin said:
“I felt that the Southampton match would be important to players. It would have been a great moment to win the World Test Championship (WTC) final for those playing the Test format and ones who missed the World Cup last year.
"Certain things didn’t go our way. I thought the 6th day would be of no use, but it was useful, and we got a result. They (New Zealand) were well-deserved winners. They were in the game throughout, constantly swinging the ball. We gave our best shot. The rub of the green didn’t go our way.”
BCCI has recommended Ravichandran Ashwin for Khel Ratna Award: Report
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had recommended the names Ravichandran Ashwin and Mithali Raj for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Further, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shikhar Dhawan's names are likely to be suggested for the Arjuna Award. A source told ANI:
"We had a detailed discussion and it was decided to send in the names of Ashwin and women's Test and ODI skipper Mithali's name for the Khel Ratna. We are recommending Dhawan again for the Arjuna while we will also suggest the names of Rahul and Bumrah."
Ravichandran Ashwin has played 79 Tests, 111 ODIs, and 46 T20Is for India, claiming 615 international wickets. He also has five Test hundreds to his name.