Ravichandran Ashwin once again starred with the ball in Tests to put India in the driver’s seat after the first session of the ongoing second Test against Australia in Delhi. The off-spinner struck twice in a space of three balls to ruin Australia’s good start with the bat.
After Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first, Australia were off to a steady start. Usman Khawaja and David Warner made sure that Australia do not lose early wickets like the first Test. Mohammed Siraj did cause a lot of problems for both the batsmen but they managed to keep their wickets intact.
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The duo went on to share a 50-run stand before Mohammed Shami ended it by making Warner edge one behind the stumps. The southpaw departed after scoring 15. Khawaja, on the other hand, batted positively and at a good rate. He and Marnus Labuschagne kept the scoreboard ticking at a good rate.
At 91 for 1 just two overs before the lunch, the session looked destined to end on a good note for Australia. However, Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice in three balls to help India end the session on top. He first dismissed Labuschagne for 18 before sending back Steve Smith for a 2-ball duck.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s unique record:
Ravichandran Ashwin has created a unique record after dismissing Steve Smith for a duck in Delhi. The off-spinner has now become the first bowler to dismiss the Australia star for a duck twice in Tests.
He first dismissed Smith for a duck in 2020 when India and Australia were up against each other in Melbourne. No other bowler has managed to dismiss the right-handed batsman for a duck twice in Tests.
Regarded as the best Test batsman of this generation, Smith has been dismissed for a duck in Tests 9 times but no bowler had managed to dismiss him for a duck twice before Ashwin did.