Harbhajan Singh admitted team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin going wicket-less on day three of the fourth Test against England at Southampton surprised him.
Meanwhile, Jos Buttler continued his good form along with Sam Curran to help England take a healthy 233 runs lead. Mohammed Shami proved to be the golden boy for India making the ball talk. He removed Adil Rashid in the last over as the umpires called it a day.
Although the pacers are shining bright, India’s lone spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has gone wicketless in the second inning. However, bagged two wickets in the first essay returning from injury.
Harbhajan Singh is astonished by Ashwin’s lack of impact on a pitch where Moeen Ali has bagged a five-for.
Ali, the all-rounder, floored the Indian batters and opened the floodgates. The cracks are open, and the surface is encouraging turn. Ashwin did trouble Joe Root a couple of times but didn’t so good enough to claim a wicket.
“I was surprised Ashwin didn’t get any wickets. But he didn’t look to try and hit that rough that we were talking about in the morning; if you do hit that rough, you’ll probably make more chances. His line has been straighter, much as it was in Nottingham. If he bowled outside off-stump, where the rough is, I think he’ll be far more dangerous,” Harbhajan said to Sky Sports.
England, meanwhile, have an uphill task in hand with two days of play left. They ended the day at 260 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Sam Curran (37) is still at the crease who will be keen to stretch the target and post a competitive target for India.
On the other hand, the visitors will be keen to restrict the opponent as early as possible to chase down the score.