Ravichandran Ashwin, who is making a comeback of sorts to international cricket after missing five Tests for India, claimed the first two South African wickets in the first match at Visakhapatnam, thus once again showing how indispensable he is for the top-ranked Test side in the world.
Both the wickets were results of brilliant deliveries, but the first one, that of Aiden Markram was an absolute beauty. The Proteas opener went for a forward defensive push but the flight and dip of the ball completely made a fool out him as the ball crashed through bat and pad. Considering the freshness of the ball, only few overs old, it was indeed commendable for the spinner to have that kind of grip and spite. The delivery, for that matter of fact, looked like a slower inswinger.
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That happened off the first ball of the eighth over. Ashwin then claimed the wicket of Theunis de Bruyn in the 17th over, this time a caught behind.
After playing in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series Down Under against Australia last December, the offie missed the remaining three matches. He was again overlooked during the two-match series in the West Indies. But the 33-year-old has returned with a vengeance.
Batting first, India declared their first innings at 502/7 after Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal plundered runs.
