After leading India’s fight with the ball, R Ashwin on Monday went on to slam his fifth Test hundred in the second encounter against England in Chennai. The spinner, who has showcassed his batting abilities on numerous occasions, reached the three figure mark in the 82nd over of the Indian second innings.
Ashwin, who had earlier finished Day 2 of the ongoing contest with a five-wicket haul, now stands second after England legend Ian Botham in the list of cricketers with most hundreds and fifer in a Test. This is the third time Ashwin achieved the feat, while Botham has accomplished the same on five occasions.
IND vs ENG | R Ashwin completes unique double-hundred at Chepauk
He is also the second Tamil Nadu player to score a Test century at Chepauk after Kris Srikkanth, who hit 123 against Pakistan in 1986/87.
This is also Ashwin’s first century against a team other than West Indies.
Ashwin’s hercualean effort helped India gain complete control in the second Test and the 34-year-old was lauded by the cricketing fraternity for the same. Here are a few messages:
Wonderful from Ashwin. I was beginning to fear that the batsman in him was getting lost. On a difficult track, this century is a gem.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 15, 2021
Chepauk applauds you, the country applauds you Ashwin, what an all round performance! @ashwinravi99
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) February 15, 2021
Great things never come from comfort zone and this is great knock from @ashwinravi99 Also showed it’s going to be hard batting on this pitch but hard does not mean impossible. Nothing but RESPECT Ash #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/1S2Wdiv83Y
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 15, 2021
When the whole whole world talks about it being a bad wicket,@ashwinravi99 gets a 100 batting at 7. I hope this lessens the doubts in all the pundits head. A certain game plan and implicit trust in defence gives you a great chance of doing well in this Chennai wicket #legend
— DK (@DineshKarthik) February 15, 2021
Class 100 Simply outstanding @ashwinravi99 take a bow .. showing everyone how to bat and bowl on this track.. well done @BCCI @StarSportsIndia #INDvsENG
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) February 15, 2021
Ashwin was eventually dismissed by Olly Stone on 106 as India scored 286 in their second innings. England now require 482 runs to win the contest with still over days left in the match.
