When was the last time Ravichandran Ashwin went wicketless in a completed Test innings in India?
Day 2 of the second Test between India and England saw a rare occurence, as Ravichandran Ashwin went wicketless in a completed innings at home. The off-spinner bowled 12 overs that went for 61 runs and didn't manage a maiden.
Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief for India, picking up six wickets to derail the England batting lineup. The ace spearhead had support from Kuldeep Yadav, who chipped in with three scalps. Axar Patel accounted for the other wicket.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who's closing in on 500 wickets in the format, has gone wicketless in a completed Test innings at home only five times. Incidentally, the first instance was also against England, in 2016 in Chennai.
So, before the ongoing clash against England, when was the last time Ravichandran Ashwin finished without any wickets to his name in a completed Test innings in India?
Ravichandran Ashwin didn't have much to do in the India vs Bangladesh D/N Test of 2019
The first day-night Test in India saw the home side dominate Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
After Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat, India's fast bowlers ran riot in helpful conditions to skittle the visitors for just 106. Ishant Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up five scalps for 22 runs. He had support from Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, who took three and two wickets respectively.
India put up a decent batting display in their first innings, making 347-9 declared. Virat Kohli's 136, along with fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, ensured that the hosts took a sizeable first-innings lead.
The Tigers couldn't make India bat again, as they folded for just 195 in their second innings. It was Umesh's turn to take a five-fer this time, but Ishant wasn't to be outdone, scalping four to take his match tally to nine. Mahmudullah retired hurt, meaning that Bangladesh's innings ended with only nine wickets.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who didn't bowl in the first innings, sent down five overs in the second essay that went for 19 runs. He and Ravindra Jadeja ended the game without any reward for their efforts, which were only a combined six overs.
Ishant was adjudged the Player of the Match as India tasted victory, by an innings and 46 runs, in their first pink-ball Test at home. Fast bowlers picked up 27 out of the 28 wickets, so it wasn't a surprise that Ashwin went wicketless.
The other three times Ashwin went wicketless in a completed Test innings at home were against England in Chennai (2016), Sri Lanka in Kolkata (2017) and South Africa in Ranchi (2019).