Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday bowled a magical delivery to guide Ben Stokes back to the pavilion as England were restricted to a meagre 134 runs in the first innings. Ashwin brought up his 29th five-wicket haul in 76 Tests, giving India a clear chance to win the second match of the series at Chennai.
It was a great day for him and a great performance by Ravichandran Ashwin so far. He is doing really good in this match as of now.
What Happened With That Ravichandran Ashwin Delivery That Stunned Ben Stokes
The delivery – very well described as the ball of the match so far by the commentators – left English vice-captain Stokes stunned as he left the team in a mess in the second session of Day 2. It was the 24th over of England’s first innings when Kohli employed Ashwin, hoping to disrupt Ben Stokes’ concentration with some sharp spin.
Here’s the video of the dismissal; what a delivery to get rid of the dangerous Ben Stokes:
Ashwin to Stokespic.twitter.com/ik2LTig9MP
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The bowler set Ben Stokes up, before going for a classic off-spin ball, that pitched on a good length at middle stump from a high arm angle. Going away from Stokes – who was trying to place it for a single on the led side – the ball beat his bat to jump off the pitch and knock off the bails on the off-stump.
The Indian team – acknowledging the damage Stokes could’ve caused if he had stayed any longer – jumped in joy. That was as the batsman himself stood stunned. Frustrated and angry, Stokes hit his pads going back to the dressing room.
By dismissing the English vice-captain, Ravichandran Ashwin overtook former Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh, to become the second-highest wicket-taker on home soil. Ashwin has 267 wickets at home while the chart leader Anil Kumble has 350 home scalps against his name.
The Situation Of The Game Is Currently In India’s Favour; Can They Win The Match?
Exploiting the cracks on the M Chidambaram pitch, Ravi Ashwin quizzed the English batsmen throughout the innings. He ended up with five wickets against his name, his 29th Test career five-for. He is also the first bowler to dismiss 200 left-handers in red-ball cricket at the highest level.
Other than Ashwin, it was debutant Axar Patel who impressed the spectators and experts on Day 2. The Gujarat bowler dismissed English skipper Joe Root to claim his first wicket in India whites. Patel kept on bowling tight and spinning the ball to keep the English batsmen guessing. He ended up giving only 40 runs in his 20 overs and claimed two wickets. Ishant Sharma got India an early strike in the day as Mohammed Siraj took a wicket in his first ball of the Test match.
After dismissing England for 134, the Indian openers came out to bat in the last session. They were only adding to Joe Root’s misery. Rohit and Gill shared a useful 42-run stand for the first wicket. That was before the latter was caught before wicket by Jack Leach. Pujara and Sharma carried on the score to 54 by stumps on Day 2, which means India have already secured a massive 249-run lead.
